Seven Kisses
by Higuchimon
Summary: [3/7, 7snogs Livejournal Challenge, Kat x Tommy/Tommy x Kat] Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another. Kiss #3: Everything has to end, sooner or later.
1. Case of Nerves

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.  
**Fandom:** Power Rangers Zeo  
**Title:** Seven Kisses: 1-7: Case of Nerves  
**Romance:** Kat x Tommy  
**Word Count:** chapter: 8,915||story: 8,915  
**Genre:** Romance, Adventure||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Challenge:** 7snogs: Kat x Tommy: Double Night Challenge: prompt #1, anxiety  
**Notes:** This takes place after **Good as Gold** but before the Turbo movie. Kat and Tommy have been dating for about a month.  
**Feedback:** All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Summary:** [1/7, 7snogs Livejournal Challenge, Kat x Tommy/Tommy x Kat] Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another. Kiss #1: Kat and Tommy's visit to an exhibit about Australia gives Rita one very nasty idea.

* * *

Tommy tugged down the bottom of his shirt with one hand and ran one finger of his other around his collar. He didn't think there was a reason to be nervous, but he was anyway. This was only his fourth date with Kat in the last month. Nothing bad had happened on any of the other three.

Maybe that was the problem. After what happened at Ernie's luau, some part of him kept expecting the Machine Empire or Rita and Zedd to turn up at any date they had and start throwing Cogs or Tengas, and whatever latest monster they had at the two of them.

He leaned back in the seat of his truck and tried to calm down. Kat had probably seen him from her bedroom window already, but he still wanted to knock and say hi to her parents before they headed off.

_Face it, Oliver. You're scared about her dumping you._ It wasn't something he enjoyed thinking about, but it crossed his mind now and then. He supposed it wasn't that unusual. Every relationship had weak spots, right?

Well, sitting in his truck musing about them wasn't going to make those weak spots any stronger. Not when Kat was probably wondering what he was doing sitting out here anyway instead of coming up to the door.

He shoved himself out of the truck and headed up the graveled path, putting all of those annoying issues behind him for the moment. He had fun going out with Kat. He had no intentions of letting anything ruin it, especially himself.

As he'd done other times, he tapped on the white-painted door. Kat really must have been waiting for him, since the echo had barely died before the door swung open and she stood there.

"Hey, Kat." He smiled; as always, she seemed to give off a warm glow of life and light the moment that he looked at her. Blonde hair perfectly brushed out, warm blue eyes that softened the moment she looked at him, that smile that sent his heart thudding against his rib cage…

"Hi, Tommy." She glanced over her shoulder and he followed her gaze to see her parents standing at the end of the hallway behind her.

"Hello, Mr. Hillard, Mrs. Hillard," he politely nodded as he had on those other times he'd come to pick her up. "Hope you have a good evening."

"I'm sure we will." Kat smiled reassuringly as she stepped outside, Tommy moving back to give her more room. "I'll be home later."

Tommy headed back down the stairs and over to the truck, Kat right next to him.

"They like you, you know." Kat said as she moved around to the passenger side. "They told me at lunch."

He wasn't blushing. He was Tommy Oliver, Red Ranger, leader of the Power Rangers, he did not blush just because his girlfriend's parents liked him! It was just…the weather. The evening was warm, after all. It was May. It was expected.

"I like them too." Tommy hoped that she couldn't see him enough to even think he might be blushing – which he wasn't – as he got behind the wheel.

He glanced over at her before he fumbled for his keys, meeting those eyes of hers. He wanted to say something else, but words eluded him. He wasn't even sure of what it was he wanted to say in the first place.

Kat looked back at him, one eyebrow tilted up and her head to the side a fraction. He swallowed, shook his head a tiny fraction, and got his key into the ignition. Maybe if he drove he could shake off some of this annoyance and figure out what it was he wanted to say.

"Tommy, is something wrong?" Kat's hand brushed against his, and he caught his breath at the feel of her smooth skin.

"No." He shook his head, not actually sure if he were lying or not. He didn't think he was. It wasn't wrong. He just hadn't made up his mind on if it were right or not. "I think I'm just having an off night or something."

Kat frowned at that. "We don't have to go anywhere if you don't feel up to it."

"No, I want to go." Tommy refused to let his own insecurities ruin tonight. "That exhibit's not going to be there forever, is it?"

"Probably not, but if you're not up to it…"

He shook his head once again and reached out to take her hand in his for a few moments. "I am. Trust me, Kat." He found a smile on his lips and spared a quick moment from driving to look at her.

As much as he would've liked to, he couldn't hold her hand and smile at her forever. He had to return his attention to the road and getting them to the museum in one piece.

Though neither of them spoke again as the road unrolled by them, the silence wasn't an entirely awkward one. A sort of expectancy hung in the air, one that grew and grew until Tommy finally rolled into the museum driveway and found a place to park.

"Kat…" He turned to her, reaching for her hand again, wanting to feel her warmth so close to him. "I just…really like you. I like spending time with you." The words sounded so clunky and awkward to his ears but he kept on anyway. "I just…I worry."

Her hand folded warmly over his and she smiled at him, warming that little cold place inside of himself. "I understand."

He thought she did. Reassured, at least for the moment, he slipped out of the truck and turned to the museum itself. A large sign on the front lawn proclaimed to reveal all the hidden wonders, mysteries, and terrors of Australia, with emphasis on the myriad of ways that almost everything there could kill someone if they weren't careful and sometimes even if they were.

"Is Australia really that dangerous?" Tommy wondered as Kat came around to join him. He'd been there, but not only had they not spent that much time there thanks to Rita and Zedd's marriage, but the school trip had been very carefully controlled so they didn't get into any trouble whatsoever, much less seeing anything that would've been dangerous.

Kat shrugged. "I didn't think it was." A hint of a smile tilted her lips upward. "But I grew up there, so I might not be the best person to ask."

He couldn't help but laugh at that, then headed up the steps with Kat. He'd been looking forward to checking this exhibit out for weeks now, and doing it with her just made it even better.

There were a few other people strolling through the corridors, pointing and staring at the various pictures, statues, and plaques of information about all the different kinds of wildlife one could find in the faraway land. So far as Tommy could tell, they were all ordinary people, not a hidden Cog, Tenga, or Putty among them. Checking out one's surroundings for potential attackers was just part of what it meant to be a Power Ranger.

"I usually think about koalas or kangaroos when I think about Australia," he admitted as they walked past a display of rare trees indigenous only to that part of the world. He wasn't entirely certain that he believed a eucalyptus tree could explode, but he'd seen stranger things going on. "You know, things that aren't dangerous."

Kat laughed and shook her head. "Koalas are dangerous if they hug you. And you really don't want a kangaroo to kick you."

Tommy gave her a long look. "Is there anything in Australia that isn't dangerous?"

She didn't answer right away, thinking the question over. "I think breathing is still safe. Or it was when I moved, anyway."

"No wonder you're such a great Ranger." Tommy rested one hand on her shoulder for a few seconds. "You're used to things trying to kill you."

"Something like that." A light flush crept up her cheeks and she ducked her head.

They moved onward, Kat pointing out some of the places pictured that she knew from her childhood. Tommy paid strict attention; he'd enjoyed their vacation there, but there was a special thrill to hearing about it from someone who saw all of this as a normal part of her life.

The later it grew, the better he liked it; they hadn't had a monster attack in almost two days, and none of their opponents attacked after sunset. He'd never really wondered as to why. They needed to sleep too, he guessed. But the closer it came to the end of the day, the easier he relaxed and didn't worry about his communicator going off. Which meant they could both really enjoy their date.

* * *

"Zedd!" Rita snapped her husband's name out as she stomped the butt of her staff on the dusty floor of the lunar palace. "I want a new monster!"

Zedd barely looked up from where he sat on his throne reading the latest update on the doings of evil beings throughout the universe. He wanted to see if their return to power and defeat of the Machine Empire had been written up yet. So far, he hadn't seen anything about it. Lousy reporters.

_Dark Spectre's up to something._ The so-called Monarch of all evil didn't impress Zedd very much. Or at least Zedd wanted to think he didn't. It wasn't impossible that Dark Spectre could squash him out of existence with little more than a wave of one finger. For centuries there had been an unstated understanding between his empire and Dark Spectre's, which amounted to 'you leave us alone and we'll leave you alone'.

_This would work out better if I could just get rid of those Rangers._ If he did that, then his reputation would be fully restored and Dark Spectre could go back to lurking in other parts of the universe and leave him be.

"Zedd!" Rita squawked again, this time kicking him in the leg. "Did you hear me? I said I wanted a monster!"

Zedd glared up at her; he hated losing his place when he was reading. "So make one! It's not like you haven't done it before! Plenty of times! Why are you bothering me about it? Can't you see I'm doing something?"

"Well, if that's going to be your attitude about it, maybe I will!" Rita flounced off in a huff of pointy clothes and annoyance. Zedd turned his attention back to the updates. Some days he really wondered why he loved her at all. He could've done better with Divatox.

No, Divatox's nephew was even more annoying than Rito was. And he hadn't thought that was possible.

* * *

Rita stomped a few feet away and stared up at the Earth. She'd watched Kat and Tommy going on their dates ever since the two had started. _How can those two be so blasted happy?_ It ate at her to think that despite everything she'd done, they still found time to have fun and go out with each other. Something had to be done, and since Zedd didn't want to do it, she would have to take care of it herself.

It would probably work better with her doing it anyway. Zedd didn't understand how much it infuriated her to see them like this. Sure, he got upset at the Rangers being happy, but seeing _Kat_ and _Tommy_, her two personal pawns who'd turned on her, being thoroughly happy _together_ made her want to blow something up. Preferably the Earth, or at least Angel Grove.

If she couldn't do that, she could at least ruin their date.

It only took a moment for her to stalk over to her Repulascope and focus it back on the two Rangers. This time, however, instead of just staring and muttering dire threats that she knew she'd never get around to pulling off, she watched where they were and what they were doing. Somewhere around there would be the inspiration for the monster that she wanted. It would be so much better than getting Finster to make something.

Where _were_ they, anyway? She hadn't paid enough attention before, only enough to realize they were on yet another date. She'd wanted to send something to break it up every time, but something always got in the way, from trying to find the palace again to setting up things once they got there.

Now that they'd done all of that, it was time to get back to business: making life miserable for the Power Rangers before actually destroying them once and for all.

_A museum. That's what it is._ That made her chances of finding something to wreck their evening with even better. She hated starting a battle so late in the evening, but since she'd spent most of the day trying to clean up all the dust that settled during the months they'd spent with her father, she hadn't had a chance to do anything until now. And saving it until the next day wouldn't be any fun. Kat and Tommy would have already finished their date.

Which meant she needed to hurry and find something before they did just that.

Rita turned the scope this way and that, trying to find something that really appealed to her destructive instincts. _You'd think with everything that's ready to blow up everything else at a moment's notice in that place, this wouldn't be so hard!_ She'd learned a little about Australia when she'd searched the world for someone to be her spy, and ended up finding Katherine. That was part of why she'd chosen the girl in the first place. Someone from that kind of a place had to be tough and strong enough to survive, and that was what Rita wanted.

In some ways it wasn't really finding something that appealed to her. It was making up her mind on which one she should use that was the difficult part. _Everything_ in Australia had something about it that she liked. Exploding trees, deadly jellyfish, spiders, snakes, crocodiles, even _snails_! She had to love a country that produced a deadly snail.

_If they weren't so slow, I'd use that._ But she had no intentions of creating a monster that the Rangers could outrun if they tried a slow walk. Something else would have to do.

If only there was one create that could contain all of the distilled danger that she enjoyed seeing so much. She started to put it together in her head. A kangaroo's powerful legs, a koala's claws, a platypus's venom…

That was it! Rita's eyes widened in joy as the idea hit her full force. If there wasn't one creature that had everything she wanted, she'd just take all of their best parts and _make_ one of her very own!

"This is perfect!" She swirled around in a happy circle. She couldn't imagine anything being more perfect than this, not unless all the Power Rangers conveniently dropped dead at the same moment. Since they weren't going to be that co operative, she would just have to take care of them herself. And this new monster would see that it happened!

It would take a while to decide what she wanted from all of her available choices. So, just to make sure Kat and Tommy didn't sneakily finish their date while she was designing her new monster, she snapped her fingers hard.

"Tengas! Go down to that museum and keep Kat and Tommy from going anywhere until I say otherwise!" She ordered the group of feathered idiots that answered her call. They needed to upgrade to something better, something that would be able to outstrip the Rangers' Zeo powers, but until such a something better came along, the Tengas would just have to do. At least they were useful for keeping the Rangers occupied.

The bird warriors vanished in a heartbeat and she looked back at the museum, wanting to make sure the fight was on before she got down to picking her parts.

* * *

"Tasmanian devils can really run that fast?" Tommy looked at the small plaque of information set against the exhibit wall. Almost eight miles an hour was pretty impressive, especially for something that small.

"I've never tried to outrun one." Kat shrugged. "Honestly, I've never even seen one."

She started to move on to the next exhibit, when a flutter of black feathers rained down only a few feet away. "And I wish I wasn't seeing these right now!" She declared, falling back into a fighting stance.

"Tengas!" Tommy shook his head, bringing his fists up. "I knew this was too good to last."

Both of them launched into the fight as quickly as they could, ducking the blows of feathered fists and slamming their own fists and feet into the Tengas as hard as they could.

"We need to get them outside!" Kat shouted, ducking a pair of Tengas that tried to team up on her. "Before someone in here gets hurt!" Or before they ruined the exhibit. Most places in Angel Grove had monster insurance of some kind, but both Rangers preferred making it unnecessary.

"Where's a door out of here?" Tommy grabbed one Tenga by the wrist and slammed it into another as hard as he could, grinning as both of them stumbled backwards. His grin fell off his face as they crashed into the very Tasmanian devil display he'd been looking at before they'd interrupted, breaking through the glass and sending the skeleton and stuffed devil scattering. "And the sooner the better!"

Kat slammed one foot into a Tenga's stomach and pushed it away with all of her strength, looking around. There had to be a door around there somewhere, one that wouldn't lead to more people. The few others there for the exhibit had scattered almost as soon as the Tengas showed up, showing the usual intelligence that those of Angel Grove had developed over the last few years. When otherworldly monsters showed up, get out of the way and let those who knew what they were doing handle the problem.

Sometimes she wondered how they kept their identities secret when they were the ones who fought whatever foot soldiers ended up being sent down, and they didn't always have time to morph when it happened.

That was a matter for another day, though. She squawked in surprise as another Tenga tackled her from behind, and the one she'd been trying to shove into the nearest wall wriggled out of her grip and seized her by the arms.

Kat had never questioned her right to use the Spirit of the Crane in the old Ninja days. Kim had given it to her and she'd never had any issues with it. But at this moment, with all of these _bird_ creatures around her, a sharp feline snarl echoed deep from her throat and she slammed both of the Tengas together with every scrap of strength she could dredge up, following it with a quick double kick that put them both down on the floor.

Only a moment later she caught sight of something else, something she'd been too distracted by the fight to notice. "Tommy!" She shouted, waving to catch his attention. The second he looked toward her, she pointed toward the far wall. "There's a door over there!" Hidden quite neatly behind a potted plant, she suspected that it only lead to a storage room or maybe some other hallway. What it likely wouldn't lead to was somewhere with artifacts and displays and people who could get hurt.

Tommy didn't waste a breath; he hurried over to her and the door even as the Tengas started to get back up and circle around them again. "Hey, beakfaces!" He waved at them, wanting to make certain none of them stayed behind. "We're going this way! Catch us if you can!"

Kat yanked the door open, realizing only as she did that if it were locked they didn't have anywhere else to try to run to. Going outside likely enough wouldn't work, not since that was where the other patrons had probably ended up. This was the best that they could do.

Behind the door led a long corridor. Kat couldn't tell where it went from there, other than 'away'. She didn't hesitate to rush down it, though, keeping an eye turned behind her to make certain the Tengas didn't lose them, or worse, catch up to them when they didn't have enough room to fight in.

"Wonder what Rita and Zedd are up to this time?" Tommy kept his own attention on the Tengas as they raced through the corridor. At least they didn't have to morph to deal with them, not like with Cogs. They could handle this without the others, at least for now.

"Trouble, like always. What else?" Kat could feel the wry smile hovering on her lips. That was all Rita and Zedd ever did. She wondered if they'd ever pick up a real hobby, like stamp collecting.

"Up there!" Tommy gestured past her and she looked to see a door half-open. No light came from whatever was on the other side, but they didn't slow down. One of the lead Tengas was far too close anyway, his claws snatching at the back of Tommy's shirt. _I just got this out of the dryer today! If it gets torn…_

That was all he had a chance to think before they were at the door, blowing through it as if they knew what to expect on the other side.

What lay on the other side was a wide room with several unopened boxes in it, and a few people wandering around opening them or unpacking one or two that had already been opened. Tommy didn't waste a second.

"We've got trouble coming after us. Where's the quickest way to somewhere without any people around?"

The workers stared at the two of them without an answer, right up until the first Tengas broke into the room behind them. One of the workers pointed toward a large door with the crowbar still in his hand. "That way. Good luck."

"Thanks." Neither Tommy nor Kat wasted another word but headed toward the indicated door, Tengas hot on their heels.

"Think we should call for backup?" Kat asked just as they slammed through the door, which led out into a loading bay, lit by several bright lights. Just as they'd hoped, there wasn't anyone else there but the two of them and the Tengas.

"I think we've got this."

Tommy had barely finished speaking before the Tengas leaped out after them, and the Red and Pink Rangers launched themselves back into the battle. For all of his brave words, Tommy admitted only to himself that he hoped they could end this before they really did need to call the others.

* * *

Rita looked over everything she'd noted from the museum exhibits. Picking out just the right parts for her new monster had taken a little time, but now she had the ones that she wanted.

"The kicking strength of a kangaroo, the claws of a koala, a platypus's venom, and a Tasmanian devil's speed!" With all of these put together onto a powerful monster body, there was no way the Rangers could defeat it!

She didn't bother calling for Finster's help with this. His monsters were all failures anyway. She'd created monsters without him before and she could definitely do it again. Creating monsters was just like riding a bicycle: you never really forgot.

Rita lifted up her staff and pointed it toward Earth, focusing her attention on the museum and the exhibits there. She'd ordered the Tengas not to cause too much damage, mostly because that would confuse the Rangers and because she knew she'd need the parts available there to weave into her new monster.

"Arise, Australian Abomination!" Lightning crackled forth from the tip of Rita's staff and blasted to Earth, separating into four bolts to hit four different exhibits. Energy from each of those gathered together, circling up and down, and finally fading away, leaving the monster behind. "Abomination, go and attack the Power Rangers! Make certain you finish them off quickly, too!"

"As you wish!" Australian Abomination glowed, gathering itself up into a stream of dark energy that hovered for a heartbeat or two before it slammed out of the museum. Rita drew herself up with pride.

In just a few minutes, it would be two Rangers down, and all the rest to go. Why hadn't she thought of this sooner?

* * *

Kat breathed in a quick lungful of air, just as the last of the Tengas fell backward into the larger group. The feathered fiends exchanged several quick looks, then all of them vanished without another word.

"I don't like this." Tommy shook his head, coming over to her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kat rubbed her arms; she'd be covered with bruises before morning. Luckily she had a lot of experience in explaining them to her parents. "You think Rita and Zedd are up to more than just this?"

"They've got to be. It doesn't make any sense otherwise."

She had to agree. Neither of them underestimated what Rita could do, much less Zedd. "Let's talk to Zordon."

"Rangers!" Neither of them had the chance to raise their communicators before an energy blast sent them both flying. Kat rolled up to her feet and stared in the direction it came from.

"What in the…"

It stood nearly seven feet tall, with muscles on top of muscles and covered in thick black fur, but with tiny eyes, huge legs with even huger feet, and claws that gleamed with a thick horrid orange coating that Kat didn't want to get any closer to than absolutely necessary.

"Who are you?" Tommy asked, also drawing himself to his feet. He didn't need to ask what; this was one of Rita and Zedd's monsters. They just needed to know what it was, so they could figure out how to beat it.

"I am Australian Abomination! And I am going to be the one who destroys all of the Power Rangers!" With no more than that, it launched itself toward them with far greater speed than almost any monster they'd seen before. Kat and Tommy just barely rolled out of the way in time, each to one side so it would have to choose which way to attack.

"You say that like we haven't heard it before. You're going to end up on the trash heap, just like all the rest of Rita and Zedd's monsters." Tommy declared, moving to one side and trying to keep the creature's attention on him.

While he did that, Kat backed off, checked to make sure no one was around to interrupt her, and hit the button on her communicator. "Zordon, this is Kat, come in! Tommy and I ran into trouble at the museum."

"We are monitoring the situation, Katherine." Zordon's comforting voice came back quickly. "Alpha has not yet identified all of the abilities of this Australian Abomination. You and Tommy had best be careful. I am sending the other Rangers to your location."

"Thanks!" She didn't dare spend any more time than that talking. She did take a quick look at the creature, and frowned. Something about it seemed a little too familiar, given where she came from and where they'd just been.

_Wait…_ A passing gust of wind brought a rank odor to her nose and she shuddered. She'd never smelled it before, but it only added to the list slowly building in her mind. The claws, the legs and feet, the speed, all of it could mean only one thing, and it wasn't something she wanted to happen.

"Tommy, be careful! If I'm right, it's got poison on those claws." Kat began to circle the creature, keeping as far back as Tommy was but not getting too close to him. Their best chance until the other got there would be to keep too far apart for it to attack them both.

"You know something about this thing, Kat?"

"It looks like someone put it together from a lot of different animals from Australia." Kat backpedaled as fast as she could to avoid a swipe from those claws. "And we've got a lot of poisonous animals in Australia."

The familiar _swoosh_ heralded the arrival of the other three Rangers, all of whom took up stances in a semi-circle around Australian Abomination. Kat wished Trey were there; they could've used his help quite a bit right then. But they would work with what they had.

"Zordon and Alpha are still working on figuring out what this thing can do. We need to keep it pinned down until they do." Adam told them.

"And I think the best way we can do that is to morph!" Tommy decided. "It's morphin' time!"

One flash of multi-colored light later and five morphed Zeo Rangers now circled the monster, which only laughed at them all.

"You think this is going to help you? Once I get you with my poison, there won't be anything any of you can do except scream like a baby!"

Unfortunately, that didn't help Kat pin down exactly what kind of poison it might be. _And no matter what kind it is, I bet Zedd and Rita made it even worse._

"Rangers!" Alpha's voice came over the communicators before they could close with the monster. "Return to the Power Chamber at once; we've figured out what the monster is made out of!"

Whatever it was, it had to be horrendous for Zordon to pull them out of the battle. The group started to back up, only for Australian Abomination to charge toward them.

"You're not getting away that easily, Rangers!"

In two quick bounds, it cleared the distance between them. Heavily clawed paws struck at Rocky and Adam, both of whom dodged out of the way just barely in the nick of time. Australian Abomination whirled, almost too fast for any of them to see, and charged now at Tommy. The Red Ranger started to move back, and he might well have escaped like the others, if the heel of his boot hadn't come down on a stray rock, sending him skittering backwards.

Rita's monster shot forward even faster, claws slicing into Tommy's suit, sparks flying as the Red Ranger flew backwards, slamming against the museum wall hard enough to dent it.

"Zeo Power Disc!" Kat didn't bother thinking about it; she simply summoned her weapon and threw it, striking the monster upside of the head. Tanya rushed over there as well, slamming her Clubs into the monster's side, then leaping away to clear the path for Rocky and Adam to strike, Axes and Hatchets sending the monster rolling away.

Kat dropped down next to Tommy, who had one hand pressed against his shoulder. It was hard to see against the red of his uniform, but she thought she saw blood, and she definitely saw thick orange traces that could only have come from the monster's venomous claws.

"Let's get him out of here." The last thing Kat saw as they all teleported out was Australian Abomination, laughing hysterically as it righted itself and marching away toward the more populated areas of the city.

* * *

"How bad is it, Alpha?" Kat winced at the gash on Tommy's shoulder. He'd demorphed almost as soon as they'd landed in the Power Chamber, and her fears about the blood were confirmed the moment that he did.

The robot continued to clean the injury, even as Tommy winced just from the light pressure of the cotton swab. "I can't be certain just yet, Katherine. The computer is analyzing the poison now." Kat turned to face Zordon, gloved hands clenched together. "It's going to attack more people. We have to stop it." As much as she wanted to stay and watch over Tommy, she knew her duty as a Power Ranger. And if they couldn't help Tommy, then they certainly couldn't help anyone else the monster attacked.

"We will, Katherine." Zordon reassured her before he turned his attention on the team as a whole. "Our scans so far indicate that the Australian Abomination is created from a melding of kangaroo, koala, Tasmanian devil, and platypus, taking some of the most powerful qualities from each of those."

Kat put it together faster than the others. "Tasmanian devils are fast. That's why it moved the way that it did." They were probably lucky it hadn't tried to attack them both at the same time. It might well have been able to do it. "Koalas have sharp claws, we saw those. Kangaroos…better not let it kick you."

"What can a platypus do, though?" Rocky wondered. "Aren't they those things with the duck bills and fur?"

"They also have venom." Kat told him, a sudden iciness forming in the pit of her stomach. "It's not fatal to a human, but it could paralyze someone if there's enough of it." She started to turn toward Tommy, when Zordon spoke again.

"Australian Abomination's venom is perhaps a hundred times more powerful than that of an ordinary platypus." Zordon said what she didn't want to hear.

Rocky shook his head a little. "So how do you fix the ordinary stuff?"

Kat closed her eyes and drew a quiet breath. "You can't. There's no known antidote for platypus venom. People have reported feeling the effects for months afterward. And if this is even worse…"

"Hey, Alpha…" Tommy spoke up for the first time since they'd returned to the Power Chamber. "Got any aspirin or something? That monster really got me bad." He tried to rub at his shoulder, which had already begun to swell worrisomely.

"That won't do any good." Kat murmured, remembering times she'd heard about people who were injured by a platypus. It didn't happen often, but it did happen. "Not even morphine can help it."

Alpha shuffled over to one of the storage lockers. "I'll see what I can find, Tommy." Kat could see his head tilted in a way that meant he was looking at her, and didn't argue about it. If they did have something that could help, she wanted Tommy to have it.

Worried looks flew fast all around the four injured Rangers. "So how do we stop it?" Adam wondered. "There's got to be a way."

Kat turned to the Viewing Globe, watching as the monster sent people fleeing from it. So far, no one else had been hit by the claws, but she suspected that was more to do with the fact the creature probably wanted to save the venom for them. That didn't stop it from sending people running screaming and blowing up any buildings that it wanted to as it stomped through the streets.

They needed to get rid of the claws. That was what held the Abomination's venom. "Let's see if we can get those claws taken care of first. Once they're out of the way, we can try the Zeo Blaster." Kat suggested.

"And if that doesn't work, I bet the Zeo Cannon would." Tanya added in.

Adam and Rocky both nodded; after all this time, they had a pretty good idea of what would work on the monsters and what wouldn't.

No one asked how they would use the Zeo Cannon or the Zeo Blaster without Tommy. All of them hoped they wouldn't have to find out.

Tommy started to push himself to his feet. "Everyone ready? Then back-"

"Hold it." Kat interrupted before he could finish, pointing him back down. "You're not going anywhere just yet. You're still hurt."

He stared at her as she gestured to the wound on his shoulder. She could see him trying not to wince as he shifted back a fraction, then shook her head firmly.

"You're not in any condition to fight, and unless Alpha can find a treatment for it…" Kat broke off, not wanting to say what she feared the most. "You need to stay here for now."

"She's right, man," Rocky put in, giving Tommy's injury a worried look. "That thing got you pretty good."

Tommy winced again, raising one hand to brush across his shoulder for a moment before he pulled away from it. "Yeah, I think you're right. Maybe I should sit this one out for now." He breathed deeply, lines of pain appearing when he didn't make an effort to stop them. "Give it a good one for me?"

Kat managed something that sort of resembled a smile, though not a very pleased one. "You got it."

* * *

Rita could not stop laughing. "This is perfect! We finally took down Tommy!" One of her favorite dreams had finally happened! She should _definitely_ should've created a monster from down under before!

Now all she needed to do was wait for the Rangers to come back and watch as her monster destroyed them all in one fell swoop. She didn't care that platypus venom wasn't fatal. It didn't need to be. The more she thought about it, the more Rita liked that it wasn't. One good hit and the Rangers would all be just like Tommy, paralyzed and in agonizing pain, unable to do anything but watch while her fantastic new monster shredded everything in sight!

"What are you up to now?"

She whirled to see Zedd standing beside her, apparently having finished reading the news, and looking fairly annoyed that she was so happy and he had nothing to do with it.

"I did just what you said, Zeddy! I made my own monster and it's already injured Tommy! There's nothing the Rangers can do to help him, either! He's out of the picture, for good!"

"I've heard that one before." Zedd muttered, tilting his head to take a look at Earth himself. "And I'll believe they're defeated when I see it with my own eyes."

"Well, then, you'd better be ready to look, because before today's over with, they _are_ going to be defeated!" Rita didn't want to hear any of Zedd's defeatist talk today. She considered taking him out of the picture herself once she'd taken over Earth. She wouldn't need him anymore then.

Granted, she'd miss waking up to that familiar grill every morning, but maybe…

She'd decide on that once all of the Rangers were finished and nothing was left of Zordon's Power Chamber or Command Center or whatever name it was going by this week but smoking rubble.

* * *

Tommy closed his eyes as the rest of the Rangers teleported out of the Power Chamber. He wished he could go with them, but with every passing moment, it was harder and harder for him to move his shoulder. Sharp spikes of pain radiating downward from where the creature's claws had torn into his shoulder. The wound itself didn't look too bad; if it weren't for how much it hurt, he would've just slapped a dressing on it and gone right back to the fight. But if he were honest with himself, he didn't think that he could stand up for more than a few moments, much less actually do anything against the monster.

"Tommy?"

He cracked one eye open to see Alpha in front of him, holding one of those strange devices used whenever they were injured. It didn't happen often enough for him to know what to call that one, but he hoped it would help. "Yeah, Alpha?"

"I'm going to run some tests on you and see if the computers can come up with an antidote for the venom." The robot hesitated before continuing. "It might hurt. I can't be sure."

Tommy set his jaw. "It can't hurt worse than it already does." Even as he said that, he knew he was wrong. The more time that passed, the worse his shoulder and arm hurt, and the more the pain crept all through him. Just sitting there, moving the little bit he needed to in order to talk, made him hurt even worse.

Alpha shuffled closer, a dark green beam emitting from the device that he held. Tommy tensed himself, and flinched as he did, since that sent another wave of pain all through him. Alpha waved it all over the affected area, murmuring something Tommy guessed was meant to soothe him. He didn't feel very soothed, though.

_The others need me. I can't stay here waiting._ He knew that right down to his bones. His bones had another story to tell, as did his flesh, both involving the fact that he couldn't even stand up without wanting to fall down and stay that way.

He took a few deeper breaths in the hopes that would help him fight back the agony twisting through him. It did nothing. He'd learned a lot of techniques to ignore pain while training in karate, and tried as many as he could think of right now. Not one of them did anything. The pain just grew worse and worse, a huge horrible knot that glowed brilliant scarlet and shimmering sick yellow in his shoulder and moved down to his arm and chest, a slow reaching line of black and red that set every inch it touched aflame.

Tommy let his head sag back against the computer banks behind him. He wanted Alpha to find something to fix this, and soon. Every breath he took hurt now. Not in the kind of way that would make him fear for his life, but worse: it made him fear for everyone he couldn't help, because he couldn't move from this spot.

This was all Rita's fault. And somehow, someday, he'd find a way to get her back for it.

* * *

"Hold it right there!" Kat drew her Zeo Blaster in the same breath that she and the others landed in front of Australian Abomination. She refused to even call this monster by its name. It made a mockery out of her home, and she wanted to destroy it for that alone, not to mention what it had done to Tommy.

"Well, well, what's this?" The creature eyed them all, waving one clawed hand. "You seem to be one Ranger short! Something wrong with your big strong leader?"

Kat never quite figured out how she stopped herself from just slamming one fist into the monster's fanged mouth. Instead, she aimed her blaster at it. "You're not going to get anyone else with that poison of yours."

"Try and stop me!"

Kat knew how fast Tasmanian Devils could move. She still couldn't move quite fast enough to avoid Australian Abomination as it crashed into her, knocking her backwards and sending her Zeo Blaster skittering out of reach.

She was back on her feet in a heartbeat, however, and took a jump back to avoid the swipe of those filthy claws. Having one of them out of commission was bad enough. She didn't want there to be two.

"What's the matter, Pink Ranger? Scared of me?"

"No, you've just got a really bad manicure and I don't want it anywhere near me." She could see the other Rangers had their own problems, kicking and punching the dozen Tengas that appeared out of nowhere. She was going to have to handle this on her own, at least until they could get rid of the birdbrains.

Again it slammed into her, sending her spiraling back until she could get her feet under her again. "Pay attention when I'm pounding you, Ranger!"

"Why should I?" Kat taunted, moving back to where she hoped her Zeo Blaster was. She didn't dare make looking for it too obvious. She had to pull this off carefully, if she could pull it off at all.

"Because I said so, that's why!"

This time, Kat knew to watch out for the creature's charge, and she dodged out of the way, rolling toward the fallen blaster she spied out of the corner of her eye. The monster whirled around, growling, and raised sharp, deadly claws.

"You got away that time, but I'm gonna send you to the hospital right next to your boyfriend!"

Kat grabbed her blaster and came up on one knee, pointing it toward the Australian Abomination. "Sorry, that's not the kind of date we like going on."

She didn't wait another second, but started firing, aiming directly at the creature's claws. She hadn't used the Power Bow as often as Kimberly had, but the Power gave her enough hand-eye co-ordination to know where she wanted those shots to go and put them there. Back the monster stumbled, farther with each shot, and she enjoyed seeing those claws start to spark and shatter under the onslaught.

Then more lasers began to join the blasting, and the other three Rangers stood beside her, the Tengas gone. Their aim was as good as hers, and in moments, Australian Abomination fell backward, groaning as it waved its paws about.

"You…you broke my claws!"

"And that's not all we're going to break!" Rocky declared, taking a step forward. "Ready, guys?"

"Ready!" The call came from three other throats as they prepared to call the Zeo Blaster and finish the monster off for good. None of them were surprised when lightning ripped down from the skies, striking the creature directly, and it rose up once again, this time, well over fifty feet tall. Thankfully, the claws remained gone.

Kat held back a brief sigh. "Looks like it's time for the Zords." She'd expected this. After all this time, they all had.

"Can we do this without Tommy?" Tanya wondered. Adam set a hand on her shoulder.

"We're going to have to." They hadn't heard anything from Alpha, Tommy, or Zordon in the few minutes the fight had taken, and none of them expected to until afterward.

Kat threw up one hand toward the sky. "We need Zeo Zord power, now!" And with the command spoken, they could see their Zords already surging toward them. Only the Phoenix failed to join them.

Once settled into their Zords, the Rangers turned all of their firepower onto Australian Abomination, sending it stumbling backward. That didn't work for long, however, as it recovered itself and lunged toward them with all possible speed. There wasn't enough room or time for them to move out of the way, and the Rangers found themselves and their Zords scattered.

"We need to form the Zeo MegaZord!" Kat declared, trying to get her sights on the monster again. With as fast as it was moving, that was all but impossible right now. "Alpha, can you read us? Can you pilot the Phoenix Zeo Zord remotely?"

The answer she got wasn't the one that any of them expected. "He won't need to, Kat." From out of the sun came the Phoenix Zeo Zord, diving with a warrior's screech and talons outstretched. Energy bolts came from those claws, knocking the monster back enough to give them space. "Sorry I'm late, guys. Mind if I join the party?"

"Tommy!" Kat sat up in her seat, eyes wide and heart pounding with excitement for a moment before she frowned. "What are you doing out here, you're still hurt!"

"Not as much as I was. Alpha found a way to neutralize the venom. Come on, let's do this!"

Kat refused to admit just how happy she was to hear his voice, not when there was a fight to finish. In moments they were all in the MegaZord cockpit together.

"Let's do this, Rangers!" Tommy declared, sounding as healthy as he ever had.

"It's not going to be that easy, Rangers!" Australian Abomination leaped forward, huge feet slamming into the combined robot and sending it stumbling against a skyscraper. It followed up with a couple of hard punches, which would've done much more damage to a human than they did to the MegaZord.

Kat had had about enough of this. "Let me handle this, guys. Zeo Ranger I Battle Helmet!" Her battle helmet descended onto the MegaZord, latching tightly into place, and she fired, sending several powerful blasts of energy against Australian Abomination. The monster stumbled back, taken off guard, and now it was the Rangers' fight completely.

As quick as Australian Abomination was, the Zeo MegaZord proved just a fraction quicker, slamming a huge fist into it before it could recover itself, knocking it backwards and off its feet completely.

"Time to end this!" All five of them agreed, and Tommy took his place at the front, summoning his Battle Helmet. The Zeo MegaZord Sabre appeared in their hand a moment later. Energy ran up and down the blade for a few moments before they slashed through the monster just as it was beginning to get back on its feet. In the typical shower of lights and explosions, Australian Abomination exploded, leaving behind nothing more than bad memories.

* * *

"No! This can't be happening!" Rita stomped her foot and her staff repeatedly. How could it have happened _again_? They were so close! She was so close!

Zedd laughed, shaking his grilled face. "I could've told you this would happen."

"This is all your fault, Zedd!" Rita wasn't above shoving the blame onto someone else. Especially Zedd. "If you'd helped instead of reading the newspaper, they wouldn't have won _again_!"

The Emperor of Evil gave her a look that might've quelled her ten thousand years earlier. But years of marriage had evaporated her fear of him and she flounced away, determined that the next time she made a monster, it would be one that would destroy the Power Rangers once and for all.

* * *

"Good to see you're all right," Rocky said, reaching to pat Tommy on the formerly injured shoulder. The Red Ranger pulled away before he could, though.

"Careful, it's not all the way back in shape yet," Tommy said with a rueful grin. "Alpha got rid of the poison and stopped most of the pain, but it's still going to take a while before it's completely fixed."

Kat turned toward Alpha at that. "How did you do it? No one's ever been able to cure platypus venom before."

"It's because of what Rita did to the monster to make it more powerful. That made the venom easier to get rid of, since she had to change it. If she'd left it the way that it was, I don't know if I could've done anything at all. But making it worse meant I could use a remedy from my home planet. Edenoi has a few poisonous creatures of its own, you know." Alpha bobbed his head some, in what they knew was a blush. "I only wish it could work on the regular version of the venom."

"Don't worry about it, Alpha." Kat smiled at that. "We can manage."

Tommy reached over to brush his fingers against her hand. "You know, it's getting a little late. Want to finish our date?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Kat entwined her fingers with his, and with a quick nod to the others, the two of them teleported out.

* * *

By the time the two of them parked once more outside of the Hillard house, the sun was long since set, and stars twinkled dimly in the skies above. A pale silver glow to the east, only visible if one looked at just the right place, heralded the arrival of the moon. Neither Kat nor Tommy bothered looking, though. The moon meant Rita and Zedd and they'd both had enough of those two for one day.

"Well, I had fun." Kat said, not yet opening her door. Her lips twitched. "Except for the monster and you getting hurt, that is."

"Yeah, I didn't like that part either. But other than that…" All in all, it was really just another day for the Power Rangers.

Tommy turned so he could look her directly in the face, a thousand words rushing up to his throat and yet none of them passed his lips. Their hands were once again entwined, having done so almost as soon as he'd stopped the truck.

He moved a little closer to her, and she to him, their eyes never leaving one another. Slowly, carefully, gently, as if a single wrong move might shatter everything and neither knew what that wrong move might be, their lips brushed softly together, hesitantly at first, then with a little more passion, more certainty.

It was the first time in the month they'd dated that they'd kissed one another. Both leaned even closer, Kat's free hand reaching upward to move through Tommy's hair, and his doing the same with her own.

Neither specifically wanted to stop, but Kat did move away at last, her gaze going over to the house. She doubted her parents were actually watching, but she didn't want any problems.

"I should go in." Kat murmured, one hand still buried in his hair. Reluctantly she pulled her fingers out, moving her head so he could do the same. He seemed every bit as loathe to do it as she was, and they still looked at each other. Something had changed, just a little, but she knew it was a good change.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked at last, and she nodded without a bit of hesitation. She looked forward to seeing him as often as possible.

**The End**


	2. The Opposite of Love

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.  
**Fandom:** Power Rangers Zeo/Turbo/Dino Thunder  
**Title:** Seven Kisses: 2-7: The Opposite of Love  
**Romance:** Kat x Tommy  
**Word Count:** chapter: 9,430||story: 18,345  
**Genre:** Romance, Adventure||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Challenge:** 7snogs: Kat x Tommy: Double Night Challenge: prompt #2, reflection  
**Notes:** This takes place sometime in the early part of the first season of Power Rangers Turbo.  
**Feedback:** All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Summary:** [2/7, 7snogs Livejournal Challenge, Kat x Tommy/Tommy x Kat] Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another. Kiss #2: Divatox hates that Kat and Tommy have a better love life than she does. She's going to fix that.

* * *

Divatox liked watching the Power Rangers. She liked knowing that there wasn't anything they could do about it, and watching them gave her all manner of interesting ideas she could and did use against them.

What she didn't like was some of what she saw that she couldn't use. Their jobs held a modicum of interest, as did their family lives, to some extent. She learned that Tommy had a brother, and made a note to put that to use one of these days. She hadn't yet decided how, and the boy didn't come into town that often, so she saved the idea for when it would become useful.

She also learned very early on in her observations that Kat and Tommy were an item and had been for months. The more she watched them, the more her twisted heart beat faster with rage.

_How dare they! How **dare** they!_ A low growl throbbed deep in her throat as she stared through her periscope at the happy couple, currently wrapped around one another at Kat's parents' home, watching some movie together. From what she'd heard, this was their first weekend together in almost a month, with his work at the racetrack having kept them apart.

If only they'd stayed like that. Even if they were still together, knowing they weren't _together_ would've thrilled Divatox to no end.

Spitting out a few words that would've turned the ears of almost any human who heard them bright red, she threw herself back into her chair, tossing the periscope to the side. "I hate those Power Rangers!"

Neither Rygog, Elgar, nor Porto took any special interest in her declaration. She'd said it at least four times a day since they'd arrived on Earth, and it ceased to have any special meaning to them. Porto was busy anyway, cataloging some of the lesser used storage areas. When she'd packed up the Subcraft for this mission, she hadn't bothered to clear out the junk, and he'd mumbled something hours earlier about wanting to see if they had anything useful in there. She doubted they would. If it was, she would've used it already.

She drummed her fingers on the side of her throne, trying to think of something that would actually bring her victory. _Forget victory, I'd settle for those two Power Ranger lovebirds to start throwing knives at each other._

Well, maybe not knives. Three of her ex-boyfriends considered that a form of foreplay. But at least not cuddling up together, cooing, and in general trying to make her sick. They had to be doing this on purpose. They knew that she watched them; there wasn't any other reason for them to curl up like that. Not that she would accept, anyway.

"My queen?" Porto had to call her twice more before she bothered looking up. Whatever he wanted couldn't be as important as her pouting, and if it was, she wanted it disposed of as soon as possible.

"This better be good. I'm in the middle of planning how to destroy the Power Rangers." In some circles that was much the same as saying she was in the middle of breathing. Those circles being those who called themselves her servants and advisors, of course. "Especially that _Kat_ and _Tommy_." She'd heard it was all Rita's fault the two of them were Power Rangers, much less knew each other in the first place.

No surprise there. Rita never had been known for her skill in plotting.

Porto shifted closer to her. "This is very good, my queen. I think it might even work with what you've got in mind right now."

"What?" Divatox lifted her gaze to meet her science advisor. "What are you going on about?" The thought that he might actually have something she could use was a strange one. He created and summoned monsters at her command, but that was his job, to do as she told. If he showed something like _initiative_, it would be the first time she could remember.

He held out a small tablet toward her. "This is what I've found doing my inventory of the storage areas."

She almost threw it back at him. "What do I want with all of that junk?" The only reason she didn't throw it out was because she hated getting rid of anything. It could be valuable someday, even if not to her. The idea of trading it all in for cash did appeal to her. She'd have to get around to it.

Porto took the tablet back and tapped one line on it. "Look here, my queen. It's the emotional reverser device that we picked up on that raid about three hundred years ago."

"Emotional reverser?" Divatox tasted the words carefully. She vaguely recalled something about it, but not any actual details. "Tell me more." It did sound a little interesting.

Behind his mask, Porto smiled. "It turns any human emotion to the reverse of what it is." He tapped the tablet with his thick fingers. "Love becomes indifference, for example."

Divatox's eyes widened as all the implications began to crash in on her. Then she frowned, eyeing him. "Indifference? Why not hate?" As fascinating as it would be for Kat and Tommy to ignore one another, the thought of them at each other's throats was equally tempting and delicious.

"Because hate is just as strong as love. Indifference means they'd never even look at each other." Porto waved one hand. "With this, you can control how anyone feels about anyone else. There's just one small problem with it."

"I don't care." Divatox waved one hand. So long as it didn't blow up in her face and could do what she wanted, she was fine with it. It could blow up in Elgar's face, so long as it made Tommy and Kat completely apathetic toward one another. "How does it work?"

"You just point it at the couple in question and press the button." Porto shifted back and forth, watching her cautiously. "But, my queen, you really should let me finish."

Divatox smacked him upside his head. "Shut up and bring me that device. I'm going to do this myself." She could hardly think of anything at the moment that would make her any happier than she already was.

Well, maybe a few billion tons of gold would do it. But until she could get hold of that, she would settle for this.

* * *

Kat leaned her head on Tommy's shoulder, breathing in his distinctive aroma. It wasn't like it had been when they'd first started to date, though she could still catch that whiff there. Now oil and the scent of the racetrack teased at her nose. It wasn't the most enticing smell she'd ever encountered, but since it was Tommy's, she liked it anyway.

He wouldn't be here much longer. He needed to get his rest. But she didn't want him to go.

_We don't have that much more time._ Sooner or later it would happen. They'd already begun to search for their successors, and after that, the call of the world would come. If it hadn't already.

Until then, though, she would enjoy what time they did have together. So she closed her eyes and relaxed into the warmth of his arms.

"Kat." She didn't know how long she'd been there when she heard him call her name. She drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes, leaning back.

"Is it that time already?" She really didn't want it to be. She wanted tonight to go on forever.

Tommy smiled, leaning his head against hers for a few quiet moments. "Sorry. But if I don't get some sleep, it's going to show up on the track." Kat winced at the thought and began to push herself up.

"When's your next race?" She was going to make it there; he'd come to more than one of her recitals and she wanted to see him winning yet again.

"Not until next weekend. I've still got some time." He folded his hands around hers and brought them up to brush his lips over them. "Let's hope Divatox behaves herself until then."

A soft smile tugged at Kat's lips. "No kidding. But she's been pretty quiet lately anyway." Maybe they could have a little more time to rest. Not that any of the Rangers (except maybe Justin, given how new he was at all of this) trusted quiet time to last all that long.

Reluctance in every line of his body, Tommy stepped toward the door, Kat only a few breaths behind him. Perhaps next time they had a little time to spare, they could meet up at his apartment, she thought. It would be a lot more private. Her parents were still there, in their own room, giving them at least some time to themselves. His apartment, small as it was, would be just for the two of them.

They stood on the porch, the soft shadows of night dispersed only by the streetlights and the porchlights. Kat tightened her grip on Tommy's hand and smiled at him.

"I'll be there next weekend." She decided right away she'd bring him something to eat; he never would eat before a race, just like he never had before a martial arts competition. He'd told her that it always tended to sit in his stomach like a rock, but afterward, he'd plow through any food put in front of him. She wasn't the best cook ever, but she knew a couple of recipes that he might like.

"Can't wait to see you." He leaned down to kiss her and she returned it, heart picking up as it always did whenever they kissed.

"Same to you."

For a moment they stood like that, until finally Tommy turned away and started toward his car. Kat didn't want to watch him leave, but she didn't want to just go inside, either.

A faint flicker of movement from the bushes nearby caught her attention briefly, and she tensed. Years of being a Power Ranger taught Kat how to recognize when there was danger of some kind near her, and the sense that someone out there _did not like her_ rang sharp and strong all through her. Her attention flicked back to Tommy, only a few steps from his truck, and she began to open her mouth to call to him.

Light washed over her from somewhere she couldn't precisely see and for a moment, Kat's legs grew weak and watery. She blinked a few times, her head spinning, as she tried to figure out what was going on. Had she seen something? Heard something?

Whatever it was, if it had even been anything at all, it was gone now. Nothing at all had even happened. _Probably just something I imagined._

She stepped back inside, closing the door behind herself, barely acknowledging Tommy's headlights as he started his truck and headed away. She had more important things to think about than him anyway. She had to work on her latest routines and keep up with her own students.

Now that she thought about it, maybe having a boyfriend wasn't such a great idea right now anyway.

* * *

Divatox squealed in triumph, twirling around in place as she held her new toy to the sky. "This is perfect!" Sure, it looked like it was starting off slow, but she could already see a few changes in the two Rangers. Normally from what she'd seen watching them, they'd both hang around staring at each other in the most annoying fashion possible before whoever needed to go home actually did. This time, Kat simply turned and walked back inside, while Tommy drove away without a single lingering look behind himself.

"My queen…" Porto shuffled closer to her, keeping an eye on the house just behind the bushes. "We should probably go back to the Subcraft."

As much as she wanted to stay and revel in the destruction of those horrid, annoying emotions, Divatox almost thought that he had a point. Besides, the longer they stayed there, the more likely it was that Dimitria would notice their presence, and that would _really_ annoy her. _Stupid embodiment of good._ She'd find a way to get rid of her one of these days.

"Then let's go." It only took a quick flexing of her power to get back to the Subcraft, and she kept hold of the emotion reversal device all the way, gloved fingers running up and down it. "Porto. I have an idea."

He shuffled closer as they materialized on the bridge. "Yes, your greatness? What can I do to help?"

"I want you to make me a very _big_ version of this thing. I want it able to affect the entire world." Divatox smiled as the idea shaped itself fully in her head. "Just one blast, and everyone stops caring about protecting their valuables. Then they can _all be mine_."

Porto blinked several times, staring at her. Divatox ignored him, settling herself on her throne and reaching for the periscope. She wanted to make certain that everything worked out the way she wanted it to between the Red and Pink Rangers.

After a few moments, she frowned. "Porto, you haven't scuttled off to do what I told you to do. Why not?" That wasn't like him. Normally he jumped to listen before she finished telling him what to do.

"Queen Divatox, there really is something that you need to know about this device."

She rose to her feet, eyes flashing, mere heartbeats from incinerating him where he stood. "All I need to know is that you are working on the planet-sized version and that it will be ready as soon as possible. I think tomorrow should give you plenty of time." She reached over and patted him on the cheek, or whatever it was passed for his cheek. "I'll even be nice and say you can have until lunchtime tomorrow." Divatox's voice hardened. "But only until lunchtime."

Porto scuttled back as quickly as he could, snatching the device from where she'd dropped it. "Yes, my queen! You'll have it!"

Divatox smirked as she turned and settled herself back on her throne. She liked it when people understood just how good it was to be the Queen.

"Hey, Auntie D! Look what I caught!"

She hated it when Elgar existed. Why couldn't he go bother someone else?

* * *

Dimitria didn't need all the sensors and probes that Zordon had in order to know when the forces of evil moved on Earth. She hesitated to call herself the 'embodiment of good', though she knew full well that Divatox called her that. Nevertheless, the two of them did have a bond of some kind, one that the Inquirian sorceress had never fully explored or even thought about a great deal. It simply wasn't something she was interested in.

But now that the two of them both called Earth home, it was something she could and did put to use on occasion. This meant that she knew when Divatox grew close to one of the Rangers, thanks to a variety of warding spells she'd placed on each of them shortly after her arrival. She wanted them to grow and be stronger, to not depend on strengths and knowledge outside of their own, but that didn't mean she wouldn't look out for them.

Which was why she knew that Divatox had been in the area of Kat's parents' home that night. Precisely what the space pirate was up to, Dimitria couldn't yet figure out. Nothing had happened that she could see.

"Something up, Dimitria?" Alpha-6 asked, his own attention going over the sensors. He needed them, even if she didn't, and for that reason she wanted them kept in full working order.

"Would it surprise you to learn that I am not entirely certain?" Phrasing what she needed others to know wasn't always easy for her people, but if it could make them think, she was all for it. "Were you aware that Divatox drew near to Katherine and Tommy not very long ago?"

Alpha drew up in surprise and started for the monitors. "Are they okay? Why didn't they say anything?"

"Could it be possible they were not aware of her presence?" Dimitria suspected that was the only reason; neither Kat nor Tommy would've just ignored Divatox if they knew she was there. The real question was _why_ she was there in the first place.

Her assistant fiddled around with the monitors and alarms, running test after test. "Can't find anything that she did. No monsters in the area. It's like she just stared at them for a while."

Dimitria considered that with all due care. "Would it not be wise to watch them over the next few days?"

"Probably right. Just because we can't find something doesn't mean Divatox didn't _do_ something." Alpha shuffled about even more, muttering under his non-existent breath about how difficult it was to watch for something when they didn't even know what they should be watching for.

Dimitria quite understood that. But being a Power Ranger, or one who guided the Rangers, was never easy. Nothing that involved the forces of evil on any level ever was.

* * *

Tommy parked his truck and headed up to his apartment, a vague sort of distance in his thoughts that was a little unusual. Normally after a date with Kat, she was all that was on his mind, the scent of her hair, the soft warmth of her skin, the sparkle in her eyes. But now, he couldn't seem to bring any of that to mind, and even more unusual, he didn't seem to care all that much.

_Maybe it's over?_ They'd had a fun time tonight, but looking back on it…well, something just didn't seem the same anymore. It wasn't something he could put his finger on, but it was there all the same. Or not there. He wasn't sure which was which and he couldn't muster up the interest to think about it very hard. Especially not when he had a race to win in the very near future.

That was really more important, anyway. He'd worked hard to get into the circuit and while they'd been kind of enjoyable, the time he took away to spend with Kat could be hampering his effectiveness just a little.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time that he and someone else had broken up. At least this time he could do it in person, and it would be his choice on the matter.

He'd call her in the morning and bring it up. If he had the time. Right now, he stifled a yawn, and headed on to bed. Getting sleep was a lot more important than thinking about his love life, or about to be lack of.

* * *

Even though the Youth Center was traditionally where the students of Angel Grove congregated before, during, and after classes, it still welcomed those who had graduated. Most of them lent a hand around the place in some fashion or other, helping to clean up or to do stock whenever they had the chance. Which was why Jason and Rocky were now helping Jerome Stone get everything cleaned and sorted out. His ownership of the Youth Center was still somewhat new, only a few months old, and he wanted to make certain everything was in absolute order at all times.

"It's kind of weird, you know," Jason murmured under his breath to his fellow former Ranger. "I just am not used to seeing him behind the bar."

"Yeah, I know." Rocky pushed his broom carefully; he couldn't haul the stock around the way Jason could, since his doctor still had him being very careful about how much he lifted or pushed around, but he could manage a broom well enough. "I keep looking over there and expecting to see Ernie."

"You and me both." Jason shook his head as he set a box of fruit destined to become smoothie ingredients on the counter. "I guess things change, though."

Rocky nodded; Power Rangers knew that better than most, since their lives revolved around powers changing, teammates changing, and enemies changing. And, something he'd never considered before, even mentors changing.

He leaned back carefully, rubbing his forehead, and inspected his work. He didn't get to Angel Grove as often as he wanted, not since he was still busy with his business classes in Stone Canyon, but he wanted to help out here. He'd spent a lot of good times in the Youth Center.

"Hey!" He looked up at the sound of Jason's voice and grinned when he saw Kat coming in. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, I've been really busy." Kat headed over to the bar even as she replied. "What about you guys? I haven't seen you around."

"Been busy." Rocky swept a bit closer to her. "Just in town to get a few things from my parents' before I head back to Stone Canyon."

"I've been applying to a few schools." Jason hadn't made up his mind on exactly what he wanted to do with his life after graduation. Nothing had ever thrilled him to the point of commitment, not like being a Power Ranger had, anyway. He spent most of his time doing odd jobs around town, enjoying helping people wherever he could.

Kat nodded, settling down with the drink she'd ordered. "I've been working with the kids at school." She took a quiet drink, eyes distant for a few moments. Whatever was on her mind, though, she said nothing of it, simply enjoying the company and her drink.

"What about Tommy?" Rocky asked, leaning against the counter. He'd done about all the sweeping he could do for the moment. The floor wouldn't need it again until closing time. He hoped.

She blinked and shrugged, a sort of attitude that he couldn't remember seeing from her before. "Driving, mostly."

Rocky glanced toward Jason, and wasn't surprised at all to see the flickers of worry going through those dark eyes. He knew Kat better than the ex-Gold Ranger did, but both of them could figure out easily that something about this was off. "I hear he's been doing pretty well at that."

"I didn't expect him to end up like that." Jason put in, taking a few steps closer. "I thought he'd probably end up with a martial arts studio."

Rocky couldn't help but nod in agreement; he would gladly have offered any of his friends a share in the one that he planned to start once he'd graduated college. Tommy would be an excellent teacher.

"I guess it is kind of a surprise." Kat's voice didn't hold the fascinated interest that it had the last time they'd talked to her about her boyfriend. If anything, she seemed almost…uncaring? "You should probably talk to him about it, though."

Again Rocky and Jason exchanged glanced, more and more concern rising between them. "Are you all right, Kat?" Jason asked finally. "You don't quite seem like yourself."

"I'm fine." She blinked at the two of them, gaze flicking between them. "What makes you think I'm not?"

"Well, for one thing, you don't usually brush off talking about Tommy like that." Rocky pointed out.

"I what?" Kat shook her head in confusion. "I guess…well, I suppose I can tell you." She adjusted her grip on the glass, looking down into it before returning her attention to them. "Tommy and I broke up this morning."

There weren't that many people in the Youth Center anyway, but even so, Jason and Rocky both felt as if a dead sort of quiet fell, deeper than could be accounted for with just a half-dozen or so there.

"What?" Jason uttered the word carefully, as if uncertain of what kind of reaction it might get. "I talked to him just the other day, he was…" He broke that off. "He didn't say anything at all about it."

"He might not have thought about it then." Kat didn't appear all that upset about it. "It's probably for the best, though. It's nothing to get worked up about."

She looked into her glass and then toward where Jerome Stone stood. "Could I have another one, please? And make it to go, I need to get going."

"Sure, Kat." His look was as confused as Jason and Rocky both felt, but he moved along to fill her order anyway.

"Something is going on." Jason kept his voice low as Kat paid for her drinks and headed out of the Youth Center. "This isn't like either of them. Tommy…" He hesitated, then shook his head and shrugged. "He wanted to ask Kat about a promise ring."

Rocky's eyes widened and a quick grin flashed over his face. "Man, I'm always the last to know these things." The grin faded in a matter of seconds, however. "So if they're broken up now, then something really bad must've happened."

"Right." Jason's gaze followed where Kat had left. "Wonder if it's…" His eyes dropped for a moment to his right wrist. Every ex-Ranger still wore their communicator, or the new version that Billy made for them. It wasn't something they used on a regular basis, but it was there in case any of them needed any help out of a tight situation. After a couple of his experiences with the Machine Empire, Billy wanted to make certain no one stood a chance of being captured by their enemies.

Rocky fidgeted a little. "Maybe we could go find out?" If this all turned out to be them overthinking things and making mountains out of molehills, it would probably be better if they didn't involve too many other people with it.

"Wouldn't hurt to ask." Jason lifted his head and cleared his throat, getting Stone's attention. "Hey, we've got to go. Something came up."

The former police officer/detective nodded. "Sure. Thanks for the help, guys."

"Our pleasure." Rocky tossed the broom into the nearest closet and headed for the doorway. Teleporting from the entryway probably worked for Power Rangers, but he didn't want to push his luck now that the Power wasn't protecting them quite as much as it used to.

Behind them, a small periscope appeared in a pitcher of ice water, and far away, Divatox growled in fury.

* * *

"They're going to wreck everything!" The pirate queen wanted to throw a temper tantrum and saw no reason to hold back. "Stop them! Stop them right now!"

Rygog stepped up, sword at the ready. "I can take some Piranhatrons to Earth. Those two aren't Rangers anymore; this will be easy."

"Do it! I don't care if you catch them or not, just make sure they don't get to the Power Chamber!" She _ached_ to find out where that was; all of her tracking couldn't locate it, and Rita and Zedd never wanted to answer her when she called them and demanded to know it. 'Find it on your own', they said. As if it were that easy.

She would find it, and when she did, she'd tear it to the ground, leaving not one stone on top of another. Perhaps she'd build herself a castle on the ruins. A sly, slow smile tilted her lips at the thought of that. Yes. That was _exactly_ what she would do.

Until she found the Power Chamber, she'd have to content herself with just trashing the Rangers and everything about them any chance she got.

"Porto! How far along are you with that planet-sized emotion reverser? You've only got until lunchtime, you know!" If he lazed about and refused to give her what she wanted, she knew several very soft places on his hide that she could blast until he hurried up and obeyed her.

He stuck his head out of his workshop, fidgeting with every word he spoke. "I'm working on it, my queen. But I still think that you should-"

"I think you should shut up and get back to work." Why did he continually attempt to tell her things that didn't matter? Hadn't he learned his lessons by now?

Well, no matter. He'd have it ready, she'd use it on the entire planet, and scoop up every single bit of gold, silver, jewelry, and money that she could get her hands on, and the Power Rangers still wouldn't know what she was doing or how to stop her.

Maybe she'd even toss a detonator or two around, just to draw them off. _Oh, I like the sound of that._ She started to turn over the idea of just where one would really do the most damage and hit on it a second later. That very place those two annoying ex-Rangers had just left: the Youth Center. Perfect.

"It is _so_ good to be the Queen."

* * *

Jason and Rocky hurried behind the Youth Center, coming to a rest as soon as they were out of sight of everyone else. "I hope Dimitria can help." Jason said; he'd only met her once, when all of the ex-Rangers were brought in to meet the new mentor. Seeing everyone else had really occupied more of his thoughts at the time, but he had the impression she was very, very different from Zordon.

"You and me both." Rocky shook his head. "This is too strange, even for us."

Jason lifted his communicator, about to call for Alpha to let him know they were coming, when a splash echoed around, and a group of fish faced warriors appeared before them. Leading them was a blue-shelled creature that he remembered from Murianthus.

"Rygog." He tensed up at once, eyes flicking toward Rocky. "This is trouble. He works for Divatox."

"Yeah, I remember hearing about him." Rocky fell into a fighting stance just as Jason did. "Ready for this?"

"Always have been. What about you?" Jason knew quite well how Rocky's back pained him still.

Rocky grinned at him, eyes dancing with the first flickers of battle. "I'm always ready for this."

Two humans, without any Ranger powers at all, and one of them still recovering from a back injury from months earlier, against a group of Piranhatrons, some of the most powerful foot soldiers available in the universe, along with Rygog, known as one of the fiercest warriors in the cosmos.

Someone didn't stand a chance. And it most certainly wasn't Jason and Rocky. Jason started the battle with one of his best kicks toward Rygog; he'd seen the other fight before, and while he'd never had a chance to go up against him personally, there was something he wanted to try.

"Hey, Rygog! How do you move in that?" His foot slammed into Rygog's chest, sending the alien warrior stumbling back a pace or two. "Because it looks to me like if you landed on your back, there's no way for you to get up again!" He did a spin kick, quite gratified when it hit textbook pure and threw the other back yet again. Rygog still carried his sword and Jason didn't have one – he'd never thought he'd miss the Power Sword as much as he did right now – so he needed to make certain the other didn't get close enough to actually attack him with it.

A short distance away, Rocky did his best to fight without stressing his back out too much. He'd done as much therapy and painkillers as he could over the last few months, and he was healed enough to spar and work out, but battle was a different sort of situation altogether. Still, the more he moved, the easier he moved, and he couldn't help a grin. This was almost like old times, fighting Putties or Tengas or Cogs.

Though he could've done without the odor of rotting fish in the air.

"You know, Divatox really must be up to something nasty if she's sending a bunch of her goons after us just because we want to go to the Power Chamber!" Jason declared as he pounded yet again on Rygog's shell. He hadn't managed to get the warrior down yet, but he kept giving it his best, avoiding the swings of the sword as best that he could.

"That just means we have to get there as soon as we can!" Rocky ducked a Piranhatrons flying fist and slammed one of his own into the creature's stomach with all of his strength, knocking it backwards.

"Really, now?" Divatox's voice came from one side and both ex-Rangers backed off enough to get a look at her. "Do you two really think you can stop me?"

Jason didn't take his eyes completely off Rygog; he had no idea of how much the other weighed, but it had to be impressive if a half-dozen of his best kicks and punches couldn't get him off his feet. "What is it you're up to, Divatox?"

"Is it really that important to you? Don't you have some silly human things you should be doing?"

"If you're messing with our friends, then it is important to us!" Rocky shot back, refusing to back down. "And you are up to something!"

"I never said I wasn't." Divatox lounged against a convenient tree, watching them. "I just said that you can't stop me, and you can't."

"What are you up to?" Rocky took a step closer. "What did you do to Kat and Tommy?"

She laughed, a horrible sound that sent chills down both their spines. "You should ask what they did to me. Wrecking my wedding and daring to show off their _perfect_ relationship." Divatox all but spat the words out, a faint glow in the back of her eyes that kept them both wary. "If I can't have a social life, then why can't anyone else?"

Rocky and Jason exchanged a look. Jason looked back at Divatox, shaking his head. "You're doing whatever you're doing because you're jealous of them?"

"Have you got any better reasons why I should do anything?" Divatox snorted before she waved one hand, calling in even more Piranhatrons, and Elgar to go with them. "Now, this is what you need to worry about." She snapped her fingers and a slender device appeared between them. "I'm sure the Rangers have told you all about these. If you can find it, you can stop it. But can you find it before it goes off?"

A trickle of energy crawled all over the detonator before it vanished. "I don't really think so. _Get them_!" Divatox snapped, and the new Piranhatrons, plus Elgar, charged into the fray, even as the ones already there started fighting.

Jason took a hard hit to the side, staggering back, breath swooshing out of him. "Rocky, I think we could use a little help here!"

"So do I. Got any on you?" Rocky's back twinged harder, especially as more and more Piranhatrons circled in, and he couldn't keep his eyes on all of them. None of them fought fairly, either, and it was all he could do to avoid getting hit too many times in the back.

"I think so!" Jason spin kicked, clearing just enough room for him to tap his communicator. "Power Chamber, this is Jason. Rocky and I are being attacked by Piranhatrons. Rangers, we need your help!"

* * *

Five different communicators beeped a few heartbeats later, and Alpha-6's voice came over them all.

"Rangers, your friends Jason and Rocky are in some trouble behind the Youth Center. Better go lend a hand or they're gonna be mush!"

Tommy pulled his car off the course and leaped out of it. "I gotta take care of something, I'll be back as soon as I can be." He tossed his helmet toward his manager and zipped out of sight.

In mere moments, five different colored beams of light touched down behind the Youth Center, to where Jason and Rocky still fought their hardest against Divatox's minions, resolving into the forms of five already morphed Power Rangers. The evil queen herself still remained where she was, throwing orders here and there that few of them listened to, since they all amounted to the same thing of 'beat them up!'

"Hey, Divatox!" Tommy shouted as soon as they touched down. "Why don't you have your goons pick on someone else for a change?"

"Oh, like all of you? I'm all for it!" Divatox snapped one hand toward the Rangers. "Go get them!"

The school of Piranhatrons shot toward the new arrivals, leaving Rocky and Jason to catch their breath for the moment. Rygog and Elgar surged along, blades waving in the air.

"What is she up to this time?" Tanya wondered, ducking out of the way of one wildly waving fish fist and ramming her shoulder against another one. "She's never attacked anyone like this before."

"Once we get this done, we can ask her." Adam put in, whirling around another one of the fish warriors. "She'll probably want to stick around and gloat a little."

Kat laughed a little, though there didn't appear to be a great deal of humor in it. "They're all like that. And I don't even know why."

"I don't think even they do." Tommy threw in his own opinion on the matter. For a brief moment, the Red and Pink Rangers stood and looked at each other. The moment lasted no more than that, since Rygog and Elgar slammed into the two of them.

"Hey, you two! Auntie D went to a lot of trouble to break you up, so no going back now!" Elgar declared, kicking Kat as hard as he could. The Pink Ranger moved away from the blow just in the nick of time, swinging back with all of her own strength.

"What are you talking about?" Behind her helmet, something stirred within Kat at those words. She shoved it aside for now; it was more important to finish the fight than worry over a relationship that ended that morning anyway. Still, it wasn't easy to not think about, and the question came out of her before she could decide not to say it.

Elgar laughed, swiping his sword at her again. "Just what I said! Come on, you're not that stupid, are you?"

"Elgar, shut up!" Divatox appeared behind him, seizing one of his large ears between her fingertips. "If I wanted them to know, I would've said something!"

Tommy shoved his way past Rygog to Divatox. "Well, I want to know what you're talking about. So spill it!"

"Sorry, Rangers." Divatox waved everyone back quickly. "But I think we've had enough of storytime for today. Maybe you'll figure out everything later on. What do you say we meet up around lunch?"

Without waiting for an answer, she swept all of her forces away in a huge teleportation circle. The Rangers stared at where she was for a few moments, before all powering down and turning toward their friends.

"What was that all about?" Justin wanted to know. "I think that's probably the weirdest fight I've ever seen."

"We could tell you stories." Jason grinned at the youngest Ranger before he looked back up at Tommy. "I think we do need to talk, though. Got any time?"

Tommy shook his head right away. "Sorry, I need to get back to the track. Unless the world's about to end if we don't."

"I don't think it is, but-" Rocky interrupted Jason before the other could finish what he was trying to say.

"Divatox set a detonator. Not sure where, but there's one around somewhere. That's more important."

"Great." Tommy bit back a sigh. "We'd better get to the Power Chamber and see what we can find out from there."

Jason shifted closer. "We're going with you. We found out Divatox might be up to something and I want to ask Dimitria if she can check into it."

For a moment, it looked as if Tommy might turn down the offer. Then he shrugged. "All right. Whatever it is, it's important enough to her that she attack you guys anyway. Better safe than sorry."

Seven shimmering beams of light lifted out from behind the Youth Center, arcing across the sky to land in the Power Chamber. The moment they did, Jason stepped forward.

"Dimitria, I think Divatox has something to do with Kat and Tommy having broken up this morning. She's bent out of shape because of what happened on Murianthus still, and Elgar said something about her being responsible for it anyway."

"And she's put a detonator somewhere in town to distract everyone from finding out what's going on." Rocky put in his own comment.

"Yo, yo, yo, Rangers…and ex-Rangers!" Alpha-6 waved his arms quickly. "One thing at a time. Detonator, you say?"

"Yeah." Before Jason could say anything else on the matter, Tanya and Adam both moved to the back of the room.

"We've got this." Each of them picked up something Jason recalled having been described to him as a Turbo Navigator and teleported out.

Dimitria's warm gaze looked down on them all. "What does Divatox have to do with Katherine and Thomas's affections for one another?"

"Just like I said." Jason kept an eye on his friends, not liking how they didn't even look at each other. That wasn't like them. There was always some level of awareness between Tommy and Kat; not a constant touch, but a subtle acknowledgment similar to what he'd seen between himself and Emily. "She did something. I just don't know what it is or how to fix it."

Alpha shuffled over to one of the monitors. "This could be what she was doing down here last night, Dimitria. It would be just like her to mess around with someone else's life."

"Do you not think this could be a natural progression of their relationship? For do not many such end soon?" Dimitria posed the questions, still with an intent look on the ex-Rangers.

Jason folded his arms over his chest. "No way. I mean, a lot of people do break up, but Tommy, don't you remember?" He glanced quickly at his best friend, who only looked back at him blankly. "Just last week you asked what I thought about you giving Kat a promise ring."

He glanced for a moment to Kat, wondering what she thought of that, and winced a little at the equally blank look on her own face. It didn't look right at all, which spoke far more eloquently than anything else about Divatox being at the root of all of this.

"Alpha-6, could you scan both of them to determine if their minds have been affected by an outside source?"

At Dimitria's word, Alpha rummaged around until he found one of the scanners and waved it over both of them. Everyone else stood in silence, waiting for the results. A series of beeps emitted from the device and Alpha checked the readout.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a winner here. Can't be sure of what caused it, but there's some kind of altered brainwaves or something going on here." Alpha peered more at the screen. "It'll take a while to figure it out, but you guys still should be in love with each other."

Kat and Tommy glanced only briefly toward one another, then back to Dimitria. Kat spoke up first. "I don't feel like I'm in love with him."

"Same here. I mean, I don't feel like I'm in love with her." Tommy scratched his head and shrugged. "I'm going to help look for that detonator."

"Yeah, me too." Kat stepped over to get her own Turbo Navigator. The two streaks of light that were her and Tommy vanished, each going in a different direction once they left the Power Chamber itself.

Rocky drew in a deep breath, clenching his fists. "How long is it going to take to figure out what Divatox did?"

"Shouldn't be too long." Alpha hooked up the scanner to one of the computers. "You guys should probably head back to Angel Grove. We'll keep an eye out for any trouble on this end."

Jason nodded, somewhat reluctantly. He didn't like this, but there wasn't much else that they could do for now.

* * *

"Porto!" The word exploded out of Divatox almost as soon as she arrived back on the Subcraft. "Is it done yet?"

"It's not lunchtime yet, my queen." Porto hedged. "And we still need to choose a monster that can defend it from the Power Rangers."

"I don't care that it isn't lunchtime. I want it ready and I want it ready now. And just pick some monster, it doesn't matter which one." Divatox stalked back and forth, muttering darker words under her breath. She hated it when people found out her plans too soon, and if she hadn't shut Elgar up, that was exactly what would've happened.

_How are we related?_ That probably could be listed under questions that they would never have an answer to, along with how Elgar managed to get himself out of the volcano and back to the Subcraft.

Porto hesitated before he answered. "It will be ready shortly." He ducked back into his workshop, strange and loud noises coming from it moments later. Divatox ignored them all, trying to decide instead which banks she would get to first. Or perhaps she could delve into some old museums for rare treasures there. There were so many wonderful options. All she would have to do was fight off the Power Rangers.

Unless, of course, the device could also make certain they lost interest in protecting the Earth.

* * *

"I think…I think…" Tanya looked around, trying to find anything that even vaguely resembled a detonator. Divatox was very skilled at hiding them due to all the practice she had, but the Rangers were just as skilled at finding them. "I think I have no idea of where it could be."

Adam offered a rueful grin. "Neither do I. This one's really well-hidden." He didn't say what they both knew; that they had to find it or wherever it was hidden would be revealed with a very loud bang and quite a bit of damage.

"It's kind of weird that Divatox would do that to Kat and Tommy." Tanya mused as they kept searching. It was somewhere in the vicinity of the Youth Center; they'd pegged it down that much at least. Kat and Tommy were checking farther out, just to be safe, while Justin looked around inside the Youth Center itself. He'd told them everything that happened after they left the Power Chamber.

"I guess some people are never happy if anyone else is happy." Adam checked his readouts again. All he could be certain of was that it was in range of the Navigator, not where it was or what it could be disguised as. Much less how much time they had before it blew.

_Probably a good thing she likes to use them as distractions and not to actually blow up something._ She always left enough time on her detonators so that the Rangers _could_ find them and get rid of them. He wasn't going to complain about that.

They had to hurry on this; not just because of the detonator running down, but there was only so much time that any of them could spend away from their jobs. Adam saw more and more why Rangers were best chosen as teenagers, at least on Earth. Even though most of them technically still _were_ teenagers, they didn't have the same free time they had before graduation.

Something brilliant all but exploded in the sky and the first thought through Adam's mind was that the detonator had gone off. He and Taniya both looked up to see what could only be one of Divatox's monsters hovering up there, a huge creature that resembled some kind of flying dump truck. In its hands it held some kind of huge device.

"All right, Power Rangers!" Divatox's voice rang from all over. He didn't know how she did it and he didn't care. "It's time for all of you, and everyone else on this miserable little planet, to stop caring! Hit it, Dumptron!"

_Man, Divatox is scraping the bottom of the barrel with this guy._ That was all Adam had time to think before the monster reached to hit a button on the device. A pale beam, almost nothing more than a ripple through the air, began to pour outward from the needle tip of the device, washing over anyone it could reach.

"What is that thing?" Thoughts of the detonator put aside for the moment, the five Rangers gathered outside of the Youth Center, doing what they could to avoid being hit for right now.

"No idea, Justin." Tanya shook her head. "But I don't think getting hit by it's a good idea."

"Yo, Rangers!" Alpha's voice came over the communicator. "That thing's a bigger version of what hit Kat and Tommy. If it nails you, then you stop caring about whatever's really important to you. You gotta get rid of it!"

That told them all that they needed to know. Kat hesitated, though. "What about the detonator?"

"Don't worry about it." This was Jason's voice over the communicator now. "Alpha's giving us what your Navigators picked up so we can track it down while you guys take care of that monster."

"Thanks, guys." Tommy's voice warmed more than it had since this entire debacle began. "Be careful."

"We're just looking for something that can blow up a couple of city blocks. You're fighting Divatox's monster. We're not the ones who need to be careful." Rocky teased.

The five Rangers got ready to get down to business. "Shift into Turbo!" Tommy declared, and the battle began in moments.

Dumptron kept on blasting anyone that got in range; the moment the beam hit someone, they stopped in their tracks, a vague look entering their eyes, before moving onward, a vital spark missing now. Tommy tried not to look too hard at them; it reminded him far too much of how he felt right now every time he looked at Kat. It wasn't a huge ripping gash in his soul, but more of a faint little twitch that something wasn't right in his world, and he didn't know what to do about it except not look at her.

"Red Ranger!" Dumptron whirled and released one arm from holding the device to point at him with one taloned finger. "So I hear you dumped your girlfriend! Now I'm gonna dump you!"

"You know, one day I'm not going to have to listen to all these ridiculous puns you monsters come up with!" Tommy groused; he could hardly wait for that day to come. Just another couple of months…

He didn't have time for another thought, since the monster charged toward him swiftly, knocking him backwards with one hit. He stayed on his feet, though, and rushed around to try attacking from another angle. The other Rangers joined in, weapons, fists, and feet slashing at the monster and trying to get hold of the device all at the same time.

There weren't many battles where Tommy couldn't figure out what was going on for the most part. He generally kept his head in them and watched everything to some degree. This one was the exception. Piranhatrons swarmed everywhere, making it even more difficult to keep track of what was going on. Rygog and Elgar joining in the confusion didn't make matters any better.

What he did manage to do was kick Dumptron's arm hard enough to knock the device out of it, sending it spinning to the ground. He didn't hesitate another second; regardless of what he felt at the moment, no one deserved to have what they felt for anyone or anything taken out of their control. Tommy pulled out his Turbo Sword and slashed it through the device, cleaving it in two.

All over the city, the people affected stopped where they were, looking around curiously as affections they thought for a few minutes didn't matter anymore surged back through them. Some few could still see the Power Rangers fighting the monster, and were experienced enough to realize what had happened and that it was a very good idea to move out of the way. So they did just that.

* * *

"Okay, it's supposed to be around here somewhere." Rocky looked around for anything out of place. They could still hear the sounds of battle, thin and tinny through the Youth Center's walls, and it made him want to get this done all the quicker.

Jason moved closer to the bar, noticing that Jerome hadn't moved the box of ingredients he'd put there earlier yet. Something tickled in the back of his mind and he hurried over there, Rocky only a few steps behind him.

"Got anything?"

"I don't know." Jason peered into the box, trying to remember what he'd seen there before and what he hadn't. It only took a moment to put it all together.

What he hadn't seen was the slender detonator and its ominous red numbers counting down with under a minute to spare. He snatched it out quickly and pelted for the outside, hissing into his communicator in the same breath.

"Alpha, I've got it!" Quick as he could, he tossed it high into the air, just as the Power Rangers sliced through Dumptron. The explosion of the detonator and that of the monster mixed together, and Jason relaxed. They'd won again.

* * *

"Everyone who got zapped by the big machine is back to normal. Now we just have to fix up these two." Alpha gestured to where Kat and Tommy stood awkwardly next to one another.

Jason rubbed his chin, staring at them. "Can we? Wouldn't we have to destroy the little one too?" That would be all but impossible; Divatox likely wouldn't let it out of her sight.

Alpha shook his head at that. "Not according to the scans I did. There are two ways to put things back to normal. One of them is just to wait. The effects of that machine wear off in a couple of days."

Tension neither Kat nor Tommy wanted to acknowledge eased out of them, and everyone else. "What's the other way?" Kat wondered. She wasn't sure if the nervousness that slid through her was because of Divatox's machine's effects or her own reactions. She hated feeling like that; it reminded her too much of being Rita's pawn.

If Alpha had possessed a mouth capable of smiling, every last one of the teens there knew that he would have. "Simple. All you two gotta do is plant one on each other and you'll be good as new!"

Kat and Tommy shot a quick look between them. Kat spoke up first. "All right." The part of her that she knew was affected by the device didn't want to. Why bother? What did it matter?

The part of her that didn't want to let control slip away to anyone else knew better.

Tommy only nodded before he stepped toward her. Their arms slid around one another and heads tilted closer. Their lips touched one another, gently at first, then with increasing passion. Their arms tightened and everyone else felt a sudden urge to look away and give them some privacy.

* * *

"I don't believe this! They did it again!" Divatox stomped up and down the bridge, trying to figure out where it had all gone wrong. "Porto! This is all your fault! I don't know how yet, but it's _all your fault!_"

Porto shuffled his feet and looked down. It wasn't the admittance of guilt she wanted, but she'd take it for right now. She turned toward her periscope, wondering if the Rangers had yet returned to somewhere she could spy on them.

"At least Kat and Tommy are broken up. That's _something_!" She'd take what she could from this disaster.

"Uh, my queen…" Porto shifted more. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

Divatox waved a hand; she had more time to listen to his babble now. "What is it?"

"The device's effects aren't permanent. They'll wear off in just a couple of days. Or sooner, under the right circumstances."

Divatox's scream of rage could be heard on the far side of Angel Grove. The only one that dwarfed it was the one she howled when she saw Kat and Tommy snuggled up to one another in his apartment after his successful race the following weekend.

**The End**


	3. Time To Move On

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.  
**Fandom:** Power Rangers Zeo/Turbo/Dino Thunder  
**Title:** Seven Kisses: 3-7: Time To Move On  
**Romance:** Kat x Tommy  
**Word Count:** chapter: 8,011||story: 26,356  
**Genre:** Romance||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Challenge:** 7snogs: Kat x Tommy: Double Night Challenge: prompt #3, new  
**Notes:** This takes place sometime in the gaps of **Passing the Torch**, parts 1 and 2, with some modifications, as well as after the episode.  
**Feedback:** All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Summary:** [3/7, 7snogs Livejournal Challenge, Kat x Tommy/Tommy x Kat] Seven times Kat and Tommy kissed one another. Kiss #3: Everything has to end, sooner or later.

* * *

Time slipped through their fingers. They all knew that they had to find their replacements; Dimitria had made it clear that the days were counting down. She hadn't seemed to stress it that much with Justin, which didn't surprise the elder four Turbo Rangers. He'd barely had his powers four months, after all. Whoever succeeded them would have at least one quasi-experienced Ranger on the team.

But finding those replacements remained the hardest part. There were so many people in Angel Grove who fit the qualifications, being trustworthy, of good heart, sound mind, and a healthy body, and yet none of them really clicked to Kat, no matter how much she tried to make her decision.

_I don't think it was this hard for Kim._ She knew the situation there was incredibly different, but that didn't make it any easier.

She'd spent an hour on the phone with Kim, in fact, just the night before, trying to get any sort of advice from her predecessor on what could make a great Pink Ranger.

"You'll find the right person. The Power kind of makes sure that you all will. Don't worry so much about it." Kim's warm laugh echoed in Kat's ears even now. "Trust me. You'll see."

She had to believe Kim was right. Looking back at the way the power had passed from person to person, it really was. Whenever a Ranger or Rangers chose to move on, someone who was perfect for the position turned up. So one of those she'd been watching would step out in some fashion and she would make her choice then.

Until then, they had something else they were doing: planning for one last campout together before the great transfer and beginning to spread out into the world.

Kat tried not to think about the plane ticket kept in a box in her room at her parents' house. One way to London. She still couldn't wrap her head around the fact this was actually going to happen. She would not only leave the home that she'd made here over the last couple of years, but she'd be doing so to pursue a career in dancing.

_And taking college classes while I'm at it._ Kat loved dancing, but she knew that a dancer's career was only a few years long at most. Some went on to teach, and some did go beyond the expected, but she still wanted to do something else with her life. Architecture and design called to her very clearly.

"I think we're just about ready." Tommy tossed the last of his own bags into his truck and looked over at her. She pulled herself quickly out of her thoughts and offered him a warm smile.

"I think so too." She stepped over to him, welcoming his warm arms around her, and touched her lips to his.

They still hadn't talked about how their relationship would go once she was in England and he was still here in Angel Grove. Whenever they were alone together, the concept loomed up between them, the elephant in the room, what they knew and simply didn't refer to in any way.

_There's too much that we're not talking about._ It didn't feel wrong to ignore all of it, but it didn't feel right either. They would, sooner or later. There wasn't any way to get around it. But sooner or later wasn't now, and now Kat wished they'd already said something to clear the air.

Tommy squeezed her one more time, then pulled away to get into the driver's seat. "I kind of wish Jason could've come with us." "He's busy, you know that." Kat moved over to get in on the other side. "You two can have your own little guy campout later," she teased, a hint of merriment floating around her lips.

From the way he perked up, Kat had a feeling that campout would happen the moment both the boys had a weekend free. She would have to thank Jason for it, once it happened.

For now, however, she leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to get her thoughts into something that resembled order. There wasn't enough time. There'd been time and then it vanished. Where it had all gone, she had no idea. It just wasn't there anymore.

"Still no luck finding anyone?" Tommy asked, with something of the air of someone who would fill up the empty space in a conversation whether he actually wanted to or not.

"No. No one seems right. You?" She knew the answer even before she asked the question. How could it be anything else?

"No." As she'd suspected. Tommy kept on driving, his eyes and mind properly on the road. "We have to pick someone soon."

A shiver ran all through Kat at the words. She knew their truth like he did, but hearing it said out loud made it seem so much more real. That was why she hadn't tried to say it herself. She didn't want it to be real.

Being a Power Ranger had been the center of all of their lives for so long. Some more than others, of course-Tanya had only had a year or so to compare to Tommy's term of service-but it meant the same thing to all of them. Being part of the battle to save the world was what their lives had been about all this time. Being without that kept Kat's eyes open at night, staring up into the shadows of her room.

_Did I do a good enough job? Did I make up for what happened?_ The questions echoed in her mind repeatedly and she didn't have answers to them. Could she make up for them? Was it even possible? Would living a normal life without powers help to do that?

Would Divatox leave them alone? None of their other enemies had ever bothered any of the former Rangers on any kind of a regular basis. Divatox _had_ kidnapped Jason and Kim, but that was a one-time event. Maybe if she needed someone else as a sacrifice.

_Well, if she needs a **virgin** sacrifice, Tommy and I don't qualify for that anymore._ Her cheeks heated up at that and she turned her attention a little more aggressively toward the scenery going by. _This is driving me insane. I think I want to give up being a Ranger just to get it over with by now._

She looked over when Tommy's hand wrapped around her own. "I really wish we didn't have to do this."

"So do I. But you know what Dimitria said." Tommy sighed, tightening his grip as he spoke. "We can't stay Power Rangers forever. No one can."

"Right." Kat ran the fingers of her free hand over Tommy's knuckles. "We have to go have lives of our own." She could understand it. That didn't mean it made all of this any easier.

If they'd just found someone right away, someone who embodied everything that Kat knew a Power Ranger should be, then it wouldn't have been nearly this hard. All of this stress was just because they didn't have anyone chosen, and the last day was almost on them.

Perhaps that was why she finally said what hadn't been said before. "Do you want to stay together…after?"

Tommy didn't say anything for almost a mile, and Kat wondered if she'd have to repeat it. He spoke up before she could. "Yes. I love you, Kat."

"But…" She didn't pull her hand away. She didn't want to. She wanted to keep feeling his warmth there for so long as she possibly could. "Are you sure?"

"You know I am. If we ever break up, it's not going to be because we're far apart." A grin touched his lips, just visible from the corner of her eye. "Besides, it's not like we can't ever see each other again. I'll get time off from the track and you can come over during the off-season, right?"

Kat had to laugh. After all of that fretting and worrying, just a few simple words broke through the confusion that gripped her so hard. "Right." She would start saving for a plane ticket home as soon as she got there. She might not get to visit as often as she would've liked, but she _would_ see him again. "Besides, we can write to each other and make phone calls."

She knew, and she knew that he knew, it wouldn't be as easy as all that. There was so much that could put a strain on a relationship with thousands of miles between them. They both had seen it happen before. But she wanted to fight for this as much as he did.

"And e-mail. Don't forget that." Neither of them were especially computer literate, but it wouldn't be that hard to figure out.

"Right. And who knows maybe we can get Dimitria to let us teleport in every now and then." Zordon would have, Kat knew, though they'd never asked for something like this from their new mentor. Even if she didn't, they had other options.

Tommy dropped her hand as they came to a tricky stretch of road that would lead them to their chosen camping site. Kat ran her fingers over where he'd touched her, remembering the feeling of his callused hands on her own warm skin. Even with all of their plans to stay in touch, she wanted to remember what it felt like to _touch_ him. She didn't want that to fade out of her memory for a single moment.

Inch by inch, the lines of tension that had held onto both of them for the last couple of weeks eased up. Some still remained, but that wasn't unexpected, given their state of not having chosen their successors. Kat couldn't help but wonder what Tommy really thought of all of this. He hadn't stopped being a Ranger for more than a few months at a time since the day Rita chose him. Being one was woven into his heart and soul.

Kat's thoughts wandered from place to place as they drove out of the city and deeper into the woods where Tanya, Adam, and Justin already awaited them, probably up to their ears in camping preparations by now. Given their differing schedules, it only made sense for some of them to go first and get the tents and campfire set up before the others arrived.

She had to admit she wished their other friends would be there as well, even the ones she'd never actually met. The thought of seeing people such as Zack or Trini, who were only names and pictures to her, sent an anticipatory thrill through her. She knew why, too: Tommy. They were his friends, and she wanted to meet _all_ of his friends and she hoped that they liked her. From what she'd heard, she believed she'd like them.

"You think Divatox is going to get up to something while we're out of town?" Tommy asked, his thoughts on tangents far from her own. Kat laughed.

"I think it would be a lot stranger if she _didn't_ do something while we're gone." Thank goodness for teleporting. Whenever Divatox struck, they'd be able to get back in time to do something about it. The only real problem would be the inevitable stress of waiting for it to happen.

That would be one definite benefit of no longer being Power Rangers. They could go off on trips like this and not have to worry about if someone tried to destroy the world yet again. That was probably why Dimitria insisted on them passing the power to someone else. No one could, or should, live with that kind of stress in their lives forever.

"When are they expecting us again?" Tommy asked, glancing at the clock.

"Not for another half hour or so. We should be there in plenty of time." Kat reached for her water bottle, thinking once again of all the girls she'd seen at Angel Grove High over the last few months, all of those who might possibly be able to be the Pink Ranger. She didn't know why they didn't fit in her mind. There wasn't anything actually wrong with them. She just didn't think they were the one.

Well, for now she'd put the whole topic to rest. There wasn't much else that she could do that she hadn't done. Whoever her successor was, she'd find her. Somehow.

* * *

Of all the ways to have a bad day. Tommy struggled harder, yanking at the ropes that bound him over the pit. He'd had quite a few bad days in his life, most of them related to one villain or another, but this one more or less took the cake.

_She would do this today._ Divatox couldn't have waited until next week or done it last week. No, today, _the_ day, when they had a camping trip _and_ a countdown to figuring out their successors, was when she decided it was time to take him out. _Yeah, like no one's ever tried this before. Wonder if I should give her Gasket's phone number._

He'd figure that out another time. Right now, he needed to find a way to get out of here before those rats ate through the rope all the way. The one it started out with now had a companion up there, the two of them nibbling and sniffing at the peanut butter Divatox had smeared on it. From the squeaks he could hear, there would be more soon. Just what he didn't need. Where was a cat when he needed one?

Rethinking what he'd just thought, Tommy managed something that sort of resembled a choked off laugh. _Kat. I wish you **were** here._ She might not be able to change into a cat anymore, but at least that would mean he wasn't in danger of falling down into this pit of whatever the heck it was. He couldn't remember what Divatox and her mother called it. Nor did he especially care.

Divatox's mother. That was a shock; he'd never actually thought that she had one. He'd sort of envisioned her crawling out from under a rock somewhere, much like Elgar must have. He couldn't imagine what the rest of the family must be like. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to try.

He strained at the ropes again, glancing toward the cave opening as he did. The guards Divatox left stared back at him. He knew he could take them once he got out, or at least he could have before having crashed his truck. At least he had insurance on it, and living in Angel Grove meant that 'I was caught up in a monster attack' was something the company would reimburse him for.

What worried him more than anything at the moment except the fact he was about to fall into a hellpit was Kat. He did his best not to think about her too much and to put all of his efforts into escape, but her face floated in the back of his mind nevertheless. He'd done what he could to get her out of danger, but he didn't know if it had worked. Had the Piranhatrons captured her too? Was she somewhere he couldn't see, maybe being forced to watch this? Was that why Divatox had left instead of remaining to watch him fall?

He wouldn't put it past the space pirate. Anything that could cause them more trouble was right on her to-do list.

Tommy tried to calm himself. He could make it through this. He _would_ make it through this. Then he'd find Kat and they'd finish up their camping trip and find their successors and go on to have a normal life.

A normal life. He'd never thought he'd want one as much as he did now. After the last few years, he'd grown so used to being a Power Ranger that he'd never thought of being anything else. Now he wanted something else. He'd looked death in the eyes enough times already.

What he wanted was a life with Kat. He wasn't going to deny her the dream of going to London, no matter what, but he knew what he wanted. And he had something in his pocket he wanted to give her.

Neither one of them was ready for a full on commitment to marriage. He knew that. Too much lay ahead of both of them, he with his racing and her with her dancing. But in the future, a hazy kind of dream that he'd found himself thinking more and more of over the last few months, he hoped the time would come. Until then, what he wanted to do was ask her for a promise, to at least keep him in mind.

He'd meant everything he'd told her in the truck. He loved her. He wanted to stay with her, even when all those thousands of miles separated them. But he didn't want to keep her attached beyond reason, just in case.

It wasn't the first time in his life that he and the one he loved were far apart and matters fell through. He didn't want it to be the second, but if Kat found someone else, then he'd do exactly what he did with Kimberly, and let her go.

How could he do anything else?

He tilted his head back to try and get an idea of how close he was to freeing himself. He wasn't at all surprised to find that the answer hadn't changed from the moment he'd been tied up: nowhere close at all. Divatox had actually done a good job on this trap. Except for the part where he wasn't going to let it work, of course.

Light gleamed off his communicator and he did his best to wriggle a finger closer to it. If he could touch the right button, he could teleport out of here entirely, ropes and all.

The hard part of that was that he didn't have nearly enough wiggle room for his fingers as he needed. He could almost brush the device with the tip of one finger, but he wasn't near the right button. _I think I should call up Billy and see if we can get these things redesigned._

Well, he wouldn't actually need to _call_ him, but talking to him about this would definitely be something to take care of as soon as possible. The new Rangers might have to worry about this one of these days. He had no plans to leave his successor hanging around like he was.

He kicked and struggled harder, trying to get any sort of leverage in order to do _something_. He wasn't going to hang here like a piece of meat until the ropes were eaten through and he fell. He had to believe Kat was safe, and even if she wasn't, that Justin, Tanya, and Adam would find out what was going on. Dimitria and Alpha were keeping an eye on them, given how close to the time it was, and they would surely know what was going on with him and Kat.

He just had to wait, that was all. The problem with that was that Tommy wasn't very good at waiting.

If he thought it would've done any good, he would've tried to trick one of the Piranhatrons into letting him go. But none of were smart enough to get tricked in the first place.

Something would work out. It had to.

* * *

No sooner had Flamite gone up in a cloud of fire and smoke did the Power Rangers teleport back to their headquarters. The moment they landed, Kat hurried over to Tommy, worry written in her eyes.

"Are you all right?" She knew that he had to be; he wouldn't have been able to join the fight if he wasn't, but she had to ask anyway. She had to know. "What happened?"

"Divatox." He shrugged; it wasn't anything they couldn't have guessed. "She had me over some kind of pit." It took him a moment to remember the name. "The Vortex of Eternal Doom and Sorrow."

Adam blinked and shook his head. "Where do they get names like that from?"

"You got me." Tommy shrugged again and Kat had to agree; for all of the months she'd spent as Rita's pawn, she still didn't get some of the way that beings of evil thought. "Anyway, I got lucky. These two kids found me and managed to get me out of there."

Kat took a step toward him. "Two kids…a boy and a girl?" Ever since she'd seen Cassie, something warm glowed in the deepest pit of her heart, the part of her where the power lay nestled close and caring.

"That's right." Tommy's lips twitched. "I think I know who I'm going to choose. T.J. really struck me as the right guy for the job."

Kat's smile widened as well. "I know how you feel." She glanced down to her hand and twisted it for a moment, calling up her Turbo Key. "What about you guys?"

Tanya and Adam exchanged a quick look before they nodded. "We've got ours picked too."

Dimitria's warm voice spoke up from the tube. "If you have made your decisions, then the time has come at last."

All four of the elder Rangers nodded in agreement. One by one, those who hadn't yet called up their Keys and set them down. Kat brushed her fingers over hers.

"It's hard to believe." In a matter of moments, all of the indecision and doubts she'd had about who to choose vanished without a trace. She could already see Kim's amused face in her mind's eye, and hear her voice reminding her that she'd told her so already.

"I'm ready." Tommy's fingers brushed across hers and she looked up toward him.

"So am I." And she was. Far more so than she'd ever imagined she would've been just a little while ago.

* * *

Once the choices were made, it still took another day before the actual ceremony happened. They needed time to contact certain other interested parties, and to speak to the newly chosen Rangers themselves. Being a Power Ranger was a choice that could only be offered, never truly forced upon another person. Even Tommy had had a chance to give up the Green Ranger powers when he'd first been freed of Rita's spell.

But the hour struck and one by one the Power Rangers (or ex-Rangers, as they technically were now) entered the chamber to commence the grand ceremony.

The moment Tommy, Kat, Adam, and Tanya entered the room, a clear voice rang across it. "Hey, guys!"

"Kim!" Kat's eyes lit up at the sight of her friend and the two young women hurried over to squeeze hands. "Glad you could make it!"

The brunette grinned at them all. "There wasn't any way that I'd miss this. None of us would." She glanced over her shoulder to where five other figures stood ranged: Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy, Aisha, and Rocky, then looked back to Kat. "I told you that you'd find the right person, didn't I?"

"You did." Kat didn't mind being told 'I told you so', especially when she had.

"I can't wait to talk to them. This is so exciting!"

"Indeed it is, Kimberly." A well-known and well-loved voice spoke up from the second energy tube in the room. Everyone grinned at the sight of Zordon and Alpha-5; it had been far too long.

As much as they all wanted to get caught up, something far more important had to happen first. Kim stepped back to join the others, while the new former ex-Rangers stood and waited as Dimitria began her speech.

Kat knew that Cassie had accepted being a Power Ranger. Dimitria would've told her otherwise. That didn't stop a certain amount of nervousness as the new Rangers stepped forward to be welcomed by their predecessors, one that didn't fade until her eyes firmly caught sight of the young woman now wearing the Pink Turbo uniform.

For a moment her gaze flicked across the room to where Kim stood watching. Was this what her own predecessor had felt when passing the Pink Power Coin to her? Something like it, at least, Kat was certain. A merging of concern and pride, of knowing that the person you'd chosen couldn't have any idea of what was going to happen to them, but knowing they would face it with pride and strength.

All too soon the ceremony ended, the new Rangers properly aware of what they would have to face, and their choice to see it through confirmed. Cassie, T.J., Ashley, Carlos, and Justin came down from the crystal dais, demorphed into their ordinary selves now, and looked at the others standing there, curiosity written over four sets of features.

"Guys, when Dimitria called us a family, she wasn't kidding." Tommy gestured to them all. "We're all ex-Rangers here. And if you need help, just call us and we'll do what we can."

Introductions and quiet conversations whispered into existence around them soon. Tommy only let it go on for so long before he tugged Kat over to a quiet corner of the room.

"Hey, do you want to get out of here? I think the camping trip's a bust but how about some dinner? It's just about time for it."

She nodded, her stomach offering its own opinion on the matter as a throaty little roar that sent scorching heat up her cheeks.

"Guys," she turned toward everyone else quickly, "Tommy and I are going to get something to eat. See you later."

Everyone waved, with varying levels of attention, and Tommy caught her hand in his before they teleported out for what they knew could be the last time. Any other visits would be because of necessity more than anything else, and no one knew when, or if, they would be needed.

* * *

Long shadows of night stretched all around them as they headed toward their favorite restaurant, a quiet place tucked into a small corner of Angel Grove, known for its cozy atmosphere and delicious food. It served an amazing variety of dishes, and the half-dozen times Kat and Tommy had come here, she was certain she'd found a new item on the menu every time.

No reservations were required and they were soon shown into a table in the back. Other diners sat at their own, their conversations providing a low, musical backdrop. Kat closed her eyes, leaned back, and let out a deep, heartfelt sigh. She didn't want to cry, but after everything that happened in the last few days, she wasn't surprised to feel tears pricking at her eyes.

Tommy's hand, as it so often did, closed around her own. "It's all right," he murmured to her, and that was what she needed to hear. Slow tears slipped down her cheeks, burning their way through her. A soft brush of fabric turned out to be a handkerchief and she picked it up, wiping her eyes and cheeks. She didn't know where he found it; she didn't think he carried one. But there it was all the same.

"This is really silly of me." She hadn't even cried when they'd graduated, though her parents both had. This meant so much more, though. It was something of a graduation in and of itself, a crossroads.

"No, it isn't." Tommy ducked his head for a moment before he caught her gaze, warm brown eyes looking into bright blue. "When I lost my powers the first time, I did the same thing. I went home that night and I thought I was fine. I thought I'd be all right with never worrying about hearing that call again. I was wrong." He shook his head. "I thought I'd never stop, actually. It was like part of me was torn out of me. I never really felt right until I got them back, either."

Kat slowly nodded, sniffling as she did. She didn't entirely feel that way, but she understood what he said. _He lost his powers, he didn't give them up. That can make a difference._ But it was close enough.

Seeing her glass of water in front of her, she took a long drink, trying her best to get everything sorted out in her head. She'd thought she'd done this before the transfer ever happened, but even after it being a solid reality, everything inside of her was jumbled and out of sorts.

"I think I'm going to wake up tomorrow and not know what to do with myself." She wrapped her fingers around her communicator. Traditionally, or so her contacts with Jason, Rocky, and Billy had shown her, ex-Rangers only wore those if they were still going to and from the Power Chamber regularly.

"We'll figure it out." Tommy promised. He hesitated for a moment, one hand going to his jacket pocket, then looked at her. "Kat…Katherine…"

"Hm?" Kat dabbed at her eyes one more time before turning to look at him. He didn't always call her by her full name so she wondered what was on his mind.

Tommy didn't say anything. What he did was pull a small box out of his pocket and set it in front of her. Kat stared at it for nearly a minute before she picked it up and opened it. She knew it was a ring before she did, but seeing it glimmer in the light caught her breath in her throat.

"I hope you like it. Jason and Kim helped me pick it out when they were here before graduation." Tommy fidgeted some, peeking a little at her. "It's a promise ring. I love you, Kat, and I'd really like to marry you someday, if you want that too."

Kat slowly plucked the ring from the white velvet cushion and watched the light gleam off the tiny emerald there. "It's my birthstone," she murmured, admiring the beauty of it.

"Yeah. I thought you'd like that." He fidgeted even more, picking his napkin up and putting it down. She could all but see the nervousness leaking off of him as she reached for his hand.

"It's beautiful." She offered him the ring, a small smile curving her lips up. "Would you put it on me?"

For a moment she thought Tommy stopped breathing. Then he took the ring, picked up her right hand, and slid it onto her ring finger there. She made a note to find out his ring size from one of their friends and get him one as well. _I should've thought of this myself._ She'd had a thousand other problems on her mind, she knew, but she still berated herself just a little.

Tommy folded his hand over hers once the ring was on her finger and they stared at one another, eyes full of a mutual joy. The ring felt right on her hand, as if it were a tiny part of her that she hadn't missed until it was there and didn't need to be anymore.

Their meal came shortly afterward, and Kat couldn't have been more grateful. She wanted at least a little time to sort through everything and get it all put together properly in her head. The ring on her finger wasn't unwelcome by any means, but it did throw another mental wrench into her works. Another point she would need to calculate into her future, as it were.

Promises weren't always kept, but she wanted this one to be, no matter how long it took. The future lay before them, mostly unmapped, waiting for them to find their way through it all.

* * *

"Are you going to tell your parents?" Tommy asked as they headed for her place, hand in hand.

"I think so. I just don't know when." Kat knew they approved of Tommy, but this was still a step, and it was something she did want them to know about. Even if they didn't approve, she wouldn't have let that interfere with their choices. She would just have taken more caution in what they did and where.

Their path led them by Angel Grove Lake, and both of them sent a wary glance in that direction. Divatox was probably still smarting from their destruction of Flamite and the loss of a chance to kill Tommy, but being wary was never a bad idea around their enemies.

_She could've killed Tommy. And I wouldn't have even had a body._ The thought of that sent even more chills down her spine. Dying was something they dealt with every day, or at least the chance of it. But there would be something to mourn over, a way to have closure and move on. She'd seen death happen before, and while it was never pretty, it was still a part of life, something to be dealt with.

Maybe that was one of the reasons she'd accepted the ring. Not the only one, not even the strongest one, but a desire to have at least a little extra memory of Tommy, something that she could hold onto and mourn if the time ever came. Even without being Power Rangers, he was a racecar driver now. More than one fatal accident happened to those, much more so than martial arts instructors or whatever else Tommy might decide to do with his life.

She didn't want to say anything like that to him, though. How could she? At least not now. Perhaps it would be one of those topics they talked about years in the future, when death looked more like an old friend come to visit than a creature rising up to snatch them from behind.

Eventually they stood outside of the Hillard home, looking at one another as they had so many other times, still hand in hand.

"So you're heading out to London next month, right?"

"Right."

"You're going to be great, Kat. I know it. You're incredible." He lifted up her hand and touched his lips to her knuckles, bringing a smile to her lips. "I just wish I could be there for your first performance."

A soft laugh made its way out of her throat. "I don't even know when that will be." It wouldn't be anything big, she knew that. She would have to start at the beginning, just like everyone else. But it would happen, sooner or later.

"Yeah. Well, I know I'll see you up there on stage one of these days." He still didn't release her hands and she wasn't in any hurry for him to do so.

She leaned closer to him, resting her head against his chest. "I'd tell you to be careful, but I know you won't be."

"Can't be careful on the track and win." Tommy pointed out, eyes glinting with that thrill for excitement that was one of the many points that drew her to him.

They moved closer, arms sliding around one another, and lips touched lips with growing passion. Kat almost regretted not telling her parents she was staying over with him. They would've understood, knowing that she would be leaving far too soon. Wanting to spend more time with him was only natural. And she did, she really did. But tonight would not be that night.

But she would take all the nights she could from here on out.

* * *

"So, you think he's going to ask her?" Kim nudged Jason a little, eyes bright with hope. Jason didn't have to ask who she meant. Not after a certain trip the three of them had made some months before.

"I know he is." Jason knew Tommy; he wouldn't have wanted to put Kat on the spot by asking her about the promise ring in front of everyone.

Kim nodded, a warm smile playing about her lips. Jason hadn't ever asked her about her own feelings; he trusted her to handle them on her own, without him being the overprotective big brother. He kept that for people who bothered her too much, and there hadn't been anyone like that in quite some time.

"So what about you and what's her name…Emily?" Kim prodded him once again, avidly curious. "When do I get to meet her?"

"Soon!" Jason held off a laugh; he'd wanted Kim to meet his girlfriend when they were in town for the Little Angels' Shelter, but Emily hadn't been able to make it herself. So much had been going on then anyway. He hadn't wanted to have to explain to her why he'd vanished for a couple of days anyway. He thought sometimes that she suspected what he'd used to do.

Kim leaned back against the wall, uncomfortable as it had to be, and watched the new Rangers for a few moments. She and Cassie had been talking about something before she'd come over to Jason; he thought it involved music of some kind. He hadn't been able to hear it, being mostly caught up in discussing the problems of being a leader with T.J. Tommy had held the position longer than he did, but T.J. didn't seem to care, just wanting to talk about the whole concept.

"I'm really happy for both of them." Jason didn't think she was talking about their new friends. Not with that tone of voice. He knew her too well to think that anyway.

"Regrets?" He chose the word on purpose, wanting her to say only what she felt like saying. He knew about the letter; not only had she talked to him about it before ever sending it, but he'd had a phone call from Tommy not long after it arrived.

She didn't answer at once. "I don't know." Her sigh was heartfelt. "I don't think so, though. Just…wondering a little." She shook her head. "I want them to be happy, I know that."

"And I know that's what they both want for you." Jason tilted his head, eyebrows going up in curiosity. "What about …what's his name?" For the life of him he couldn't remember the name of the man she'd met in Florida. He knew that she'd told him, but it just didn't stay in his head.

Kim swatted him on the arm, any melancholy thoughts dissipating. "He's gone home for a visit. I've probably missed at least one call from him being here." She didn't sound especially worried about that and Jason decided he would have to keep an eye on what developed here. This guy might be Kim's perfect man, but even the perfect man had to deal with certain honorary relatives.

* * *

Kat dropped the suitcase by the door, next to the other three awaiting her. For a few moments she stood and looked at them, before going back upstairs to check her room one last time.

It didn't look like 'her' room anymore. All of her pictures and everything that she'd added here since they'd moved in were now all in one of those suitcases. Even the bed had been stripped; her bedspread packed and the sheets in the washer.

Tommy's hand rested on her shoulder. "Are you ready?" He would take her to the airport. Her parents would come along, of course, and Tanya and Adam would meet them there. She'd hoped Justin would've been able to come, but a combination of homework and Divatox's meddling meant he had too much on his plate for the moment.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Kat turned and followed him down the stairs until they stood by the door again. She didn't waste any time, picking up two of her suitcases and heading out to where Tommy's new truck waited for them.

Just like passing her powers onto Cassie, this all seemed like some kind of weird and wild dream, up until the moment came when it happened. Now she really would be living in London and studying dance, just as she'd wanted for so long.

"Sorry I'll miss your race." Kat wished her flight could be rescheduled, but not everything worked out the way that one hoped. "I know you're going to win."

Tommy only shrugged, grinning. "I'll call and let you know what happened."

"Don't forget about the time difference." She'd drummed that into her own head for weeks already. Seven hours between here in Angel Grove and London, five between Florida and London. She wanted to make certain she could keep in touch with all of her friends. It was almost as hard as keeping in mind the difference between Angel Grove and where she'd lived in Australia.

"I won't, I won't." Tommy settled the suitcases he'd carried out into the back of the truck next to the ones she'd put in there.

Silence fell between them as they settled inside. Her parents were already in their own car and pulling out of the driveway. Kat watched as Tommy backed out, her stomach squirming with nerves that she wished she didn't have.

"You all right?" He asked the question quietly, not looking at her.

"I…" She hesitated, a watery little smile appearing on her lips. "I'm not really sure how to answer that. I'm not worried. I know this is going to work out. But…"

He smiled as well, and that warmed her deeper inside. "But you're nervous, right?"

"Right." How could she not be? It wasn't the kind of nerves that would lock her up from doing anything, but the kind that made her fear what would happen when she did something, no matter what it was.

To his credit, Tommy didn't tell her that she was fretting over nothing. He just patted her hand in his best comforting manner – she had yet to tell him that just his presence comforted her more than anything else ever could – and headed on to the airport.

Kat let her mind wander. Her classes for college wouldn't start for another month, giving her time to get settled into the dance school's routine first. That had been Kim's advice; she was doing much the same in Florida, taking college classes in horticulture and gardening while preparing herself for the next big gymnastics competition. Stressful, she'd called it, but worth every minute. Accomplishing childhood dreams didn't mean that was where their futures ended.

She glanced at Tommy and wondered what else he'd do with his life once he didn't want to race anymore. She didn't know when, or even if, really, he'd change his mind about that, but if it happened, she couldn't help but just…wonder. Would he go into business with Rocky at the dojo? Start up his own somewhere in Angel Grove? Do something else that had nothing to do with the martial arts?

Perhaps do as Billy had and move off planet to work with Power Rangers somewhere else? Zordon had mentioned that was a possibility for Billy, now that he lived on Aquitar. Whether it was one for them she didn't know, but Tommy would be a good candidate if any of them were.

For now, though, he looked just as happy as a fish in deep water when it came to zooming around the track. It satisfied his adrenaline needs almost as much as fighting monsters on a weekly basis had. So whatever it was, she felt assured that it would involve risking his life on some level. That was what Tommy did.

She ran her fingers over the promise ring, wondering what she would do if he did decide to leave the planet. _Better not to worry about it right now._ She had enough to keep herself occupied before she started fretting over things that would probably not happen.

"I heard the Rangers had a fight with Divatox the other day." Tommy spoke up. "Some kind of anger spell or something."

"Yeah, Justin was telling me about it." The youngest Ranger still kept in close touch with all of them, even without fighting together. "They managed it pretty well, though."

"They're doing just fine." Pride flickered through Tommy's voice, pride that she shared. It was good to know that their successors were doing such a good job of keeping the world safe from Divatox. So far she hadn't shown any signs of wanting to take out her anger on the now ex-Rangers, which was all to the good so far as Kat was concerned. Let her focus on the ones who stood opposed to her now.

Closer and closer the airport grew, and Kat held back every scrap of anxiety, focusing on the anticipation instead. A new home. A new chapter of her life starting, one that she would write herself, by her own choice. She never regretted a moment of being a Ranger, though she could've easily managed without being Rita's pawn first.

Far sooner than she would've liked, she stood with her suitcases and her friends there, all of those who had been able to make it. Tanya and Adam both hugged her, while Rocky grinned and wished her well. She hadn't expected him there, in all honesty, but there he stood.

"Kim said hi, by the way," he told Kat, "and she said she'll be waiting for you to call her."

Kat nodded; she had a long list of people that she would call once she had her phone set up properly there. One of her 'going-away' presents was a thick address book that held the name, number, and address of every single Power Ranger and ex-Ranger with the sole exception of Trey of Triforia. Even Billy had added one, mentioning that he was hard at work on getting more reliable communications set up between Aquitar and Earth. Their planet might not be ready for the full on knowledge that alien cultures existed in peaceful harmony, but that didn't mean they couldn't make a few phone calls in the meantime.

Both of her parents hugged her, her mother brushing one hand through her hair. "I can't wait to see you up on stage. You're going to get all the best roles, I know it."

"I hope so." Kat wasn't as certain about that as her mother was; she knew it would take time to work up to that level of skill. Still, there wasn't any reason to deny it just yet. "You two take care of yourselves." They would be home alone without her now, for the first time since she'd been born.

Her father looked over at Tommy. Kat had told them both about the promise ring shortly after he'd given it to her. "Tommy, if Kat ever has to call me and tell me that you've hurt yourself racing, I'm going to be upset with you."

"Don't worry, Mr. Hillard. I'm going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen." Tommy promised. Kat decided moving to England was a very good idea and in fact considered asking Dimitria what Eltar or Inquiris were like.

Though it could've been worse. Her father could've tried being intimidating. She didn't think that would've worked all that well, given his height and build versus Tommy's.

"Good luck, Kat," her father said, patting her on the arm. "We're going to miss you."

"I'll miss you guys too." She hugged everyone one more time before picking up her carry-on. Tommy caught her free hand and she looked back at him.

"I love you, Kat." He didn't say it when it was more than just the two of them very often, and she smiled back at him, fighting back a sudden surge of tears.

"I love you, too, Tommy." There was so much more that ached to be said, and none of it could be. Some words didn't need to be spoken to be known. She kissed him quickly, holding him for a few moments before turning away and heading for her flight. As much as she would've liked to stay there forever with them all, her future called to her and she wouldn't let it wait.

**The End**


End file.
